Virtualization Mentors Wanted!
If you are new to VMware, Citrix, www.Openstack.org, UCS or any other software or hardware technology, it’s not about the CERTs you have, it’s about how you handle yourself in a pinch that really makes the difference.
Anyone (well almost anyone) can Google a topic (or problem) and follow someone’s instructions for installing a product or configuring a software…
…But, as my experience has shown me over time – it’s the guy or girl who knows their stuff that you want on the call when things go wrong (and you can bet things will go wrong).
Unfortunately I’ve seen many entry-level admins spend most of their time on best efforts without a mentor to teach them about best practices.
Mentor Shortage (Not Fun or Easy)
Being a virtualization mentor is not FUN or EASY.
Similar to raising kids, mentors need to spend time caring and giving attention to the new admins they are working with.
The problem though, is it’s much easier to just handle the job or task yourself and get it over with. Especially when it comes to handling incident management where people are on a call where some manager is stressed out and wants status updates every 5 minutes.
No, it is much easier to hide away in your dark corner and just fix what’s broken without anyone knowing how or when it was fixed.
And, yes, I really know people like this…
But we need virtualization mentors!
We need you to take time and help teach our new hires the Ins-n-Outs of configuring XenApp or ESXi. Or how to configure storage LUNs properly on a NetApp filer.
And don’t stop there – show our newbies how to run the show so you can take a vacation or actually be sick without needing to log in remotely and be on calls because nobody knows how to add a new blade to the cluster. I get it and have been there myself…
Give them a fish and they will always come back to you for another…but teach them to fish and they will give you back your fish…My own take on this saying!
Don’t worry about someone taking your job.
If someone takes your job maybe you should follow them around for a while and learn what tricks they know. Could be they just have a deeper well of knowledge.
But here’s the secret I’ve learned, people who are not afraid to invest in other people’s success usually find themselves blessed. What I mean is you become someone people want to have on their team, which means you are more valuable as a mentor than just the biggest geek on the team.
So – the moral of this blog post is to be a mentor of virtualization newbies and help new excited staff learn the ropes so they can be successful at their job…
Don’t hide your secrets on best practices, share them with everyone.
Build the best virtualization environment in the world and at the same time, the best team to support it.
Friends and Co-workers I’ve Mentored and who have Mentored Me
Conclusion:
Managers need people on their team who will teach others how to do things right. They want people who can talk to new employees and share their knowledge. And they want people who are approachable.
We want mentors who can teach newbies how to stay calm when all hell is breaking loose…
