EnvironMentors – catalysts for ego-change

Thirty years ago I was approached by a man nearly 30 years my senior. He asked me into his corner office and told me to sit down. He just wanted to talk. He lit his pipe (smoking used to be allowed in buildings) and started talking as if he not only liked me, but respected me. Over the course of many weekly meetings, we talked about our jobs, our common department, our dreams, our frustrations. Without any formal declaration, I had just been brought under the wings of a mentor.

Over time I got to know Richard Kilpert better, and he got to know me. In the end I got the better end of the deal.

Richard Kilpert was a gentle giant, a purple-heart survivor of World War II’s Battle of the Bulge. I did not know what to say when he showed me that badge. I got all nervous and mumbled something like, “Wow. Thank you for your service.” I should have said “Thank you for sharing with me. You have made my life richer. Nobody has ever been this open with me. I feel as if I don’t deserve it. But I accept you with gratitude and all you are sharing with me. I pray I can do the same one day for others.”

In our regular sessions, I was taught via stories how decisions in big corporations were made, how to put aside your passions when making presentations and instead recognize the passions of those you need to convince to act… for that is the most likely path to get what you really want. I was taught about the art of compromise, and that ideals can get in the way of progress because they can thwart compromise (“Don’t let the perfect get in the way of the possible”). I am sure there were other lessons in Dick’s stories as well, but these are the ones I remember most.

Dick Kilpert retired early in one of the first corporate down-sizings to hit America. I did not see him again until his wake more than 10 years later. But every time I misstepped in my professional life, every time I let my ego get in the way of real progress, I hear his guidance, and I don’t feel so alone or dumb anymore.

The professional world today is devoid of mentors, at least good ones. And the environmental world is particularly barren. People with experience are regularly put out to pasture, and many members of the youngest generations entering the professional world seem intent on believing there is nothing us children of the 60′s can teach them. In the environmental world, there are rock stars and idealists. Idealists are identifiable by their emotions, and by their inability to connect with anybody who does not share their emotions. Rock stars, on the other hand, keep their emotions in check except when they are performing, and then it is all scripted. They are the ones sought after as keynote speakers at conference, the ones with top positions in the corporate or publishing food chain, ones who preach instead of sharing wisdom. When I was at a conference two weeks ago about “Making Green from Green,” I was appalled that none of the speakers could answer in any substantive way my question: “You make people excited when you talk about the steps you have taken to make your companies more sustainable, but can you tell me just one barrier you faced or are still facing, and what you did to overcome it?”

Environ-mentoring is all about addressing questions on the tough parts of life and the difficulties of making deep and lasting connections, about the difficulty of the journey. Who from this generation is available to do just that?

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This past weekend, the environmental world lost another great mentor, Wesley Eckenfelder. He taught generations about water pollution and its controls. When he sought me out and invited me to dinner one evening early in my own career, he shared with me freely his wisdom and his thoughts on the future of our profession. He was funny, compassionate, and always willing to lift the spirits and the capabilities of those of us dedicated to cleaning up and protecting the waters of the world. I know of no other capable of taking his place. Peace to you and your family, Wes. You are already missed.