He never gives quick solutions.

Today, I want to discuss the concept of mentoring. But first, what exactly is a mentor?
According to our club’s document, a mentor is someone who knows a lot, has experience, and is a trusted guide. Mentors give advice, motivate, support, and lead by example. They help others
achieve their goals.

Thinking about this, I wondered who my mentor was. Can you quickly think of yours? It was
tough for me. I never liked asking for help or being taught by others. Even back in school, I
preferred figuring things out on my own.

This inclination persisted in my professional life. When tasked with assignments, I would
tackle them alone and then report the initial results to my supervisor. Then, I got feedback,
and I retried again, leading to iterative improvements. I learned a lot this way, where any
mentor didn’t appear. So, I didn’t notice that I had a mentor at that time. But when preparing
this speech for today, I realized that I did have a mentor. Now, I want to share how this mentor
influenced me.

He was two years older, always smiling and calm. We usually didn't talk about work; instead,
we focused on our shared passion for ramen. We were both living in Chiba at that time, and
often went to Tokyo for ramen after work.

When we both started at the company, neither of
us was good at English. But he turned English into a hobby, and two years later, his score was
over 700. Inspired by him, I started learning English as a hobby too. So, he was a great
influencer for me in the hobby world.

He was also great at his job. He knew a lot about everything. I, on the other hand, didn't study
much in school and felt far from being a professional engineer. Our work involved creating
computer programs for simulations to improve quality and productivity in production
processes.

Despite working independently in our roles, he stood out by actively engaging with
my reports and presentations.
His approach was unique. Instead of providing solutions, he posed questions: "Why does this
phenomenon occur in this equipment?" or "Your analysis suggests the temperature should
decrease, but the calculations show the opposite. Why?" I believe that he was smart enough to know what was wrong with my logic. I believe he knew the answers, but he never told me the answers. Instead, he asked questions. Great questions. These questions were opportunities for me to delve deeper, research more. He guided me with questions that
sparked personal and professional development.

When you help others at work, it's tempting to tell them what to do and how to do it. But that
hinders their growth. In our society, we often face questions with no clear answers. At those
times, no one knows what to do. In such instances, the instinct may be to provide clear
directions, but a mentor recognizes the value in fostering independent thinking.

Great mentors never give solutions; they ask questions