HEMP Graduation Day: What I Learned from My Mentor
By Brittany Fugate, Founder
As quickly as my mentorship in the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program (HEMP) started, now it’s come to a close. Words really can’t express how big an impact the program and my mentor, Matthew Mellor, have had on my business and my life, but I’ll give it a try.
HEMP is an amazing program that matches seasoned entrepreneur mentors with newer entrepreneur mentees. Barnett Helzberg, Jr., former owner and president of Helzberg Diamonds, founded HEMP in 1995, inspired by his 23-year mentoring relationship with Ewing Kauffman.
After starting with HEMP in 2023, I graduated from the program last month. I’ll now transition to a HEMP fellow, so I can stay engaged with the organization and help share my experiences with the community there. What I’ve learned could fill Arrowhead, and the relationships I’ve formed are priceless.
The impact of my HEMP mentor
One of the biggest concepts I took from my time with Matthew was servant leadership. I’m not here to take care of everything myself — I’m here to anticipate what my team needs to do their best work, remove obstacles that keep them from doing it, and find opportunities for them to grow and achieve.
“One of the things that Brittany and I worked on is pulling back and letting her team take more ownership in its success,” Matthew reported to one of my colleagues. (Interviewing him myself for this felt a little odd!) “As a leader, it’s easy to swoop in and save the day, but she was willing to embrace the possibility of failure as a growth opportunity.”
He also taught me that it’s not only OK to be bored as a leader — it’s essential. If I’m not bored, it probably means I’m doing too much of what I should be entrusting to my team instead.
If I let myself be bored, my mind has space to get creative and dream up new initiatives, new offerings or new partnerships that could benefit our clients and our team. My eyes can stay open to what needs attention or improvement instead of just being stuck in the weeds of day-to-day work. It’s also really healthy for me mentally and gives me the reset I need to tackle the next challenge.
We’re always focused on our culture
“If I could advise someone else to do something just like Brittany has done, it would be to start with the end in mind,” Matthew told my colleague. “Surround yourself with talented people, but give them the space and trust to let them make a difference. But also remember that culture is THE most important thing to a successful company.”
I’d say that’s the top message I’ve learned from Matthew: Our culture is who we are and it makes us who our clients love to work with. It’s always been my goal to serve my team and make Cenetric a place they’re happy and proud to work.
Are you building a business in the Kansas City area and want to work with a seasoned mentor like Matthew? I highly recommend applying for HEMP. (Want to be a mentor? You can apply at that same link.)
Or are you looking for IT support from an employee-focused provider here in KC? The responsive, expert Cenetric team can help. Tell us about your business and we’ll be in touch to get started right away.