Leading by Mentoring

As a critical element to developing leaders, mentoring benefits both mentor and mentee. To encourage mentoring behavior and take leadership development at Pantex to the next level, Human Resources Talent Management introduced a 12-month formal mentoring program in August 2025. As the Pantex Mentorship Program nears the end of its inaugural year, participants reminisce about the program’s successes.

“The program provided a great opportunity for self-discovery and a deeper understanding of my own professional aspirations,” Rebecca Hatch, information security specialist and mentee said. “This experience reaffirmed a desire to consistently challenge myself and strive for higher levels of performance in everything I do.”

The 2025-2026 mentorship program attracted 48 mentors and 104 mentees. Each applied separately and were assigned partners by Talent Management. The pairings were often from different organizations, based on common interests and availability.

Project Performance Analytics Senior Manager Justin Fox mentored several employees, including Hatch. Fox said the program offered him a chance to share his experiences — both successes and failures — and help his mentees avoid the same pitfalls.

“I wanted to be a mentor because I feel it’s everyone’s responsibility to use their own experiences to help push others further than they’ve gone themselves,” Fox said. “I believe a mentor is someone that is not only a sounding board and confidant, but also an advocate and sponsor of the people they’ve chosen to invest in.”

Through the program, mentors and mentees were encouraged to meet regularly to connect on topics such as goal-setting, feedback, effective communication, conflict management, and ethical decision- making.

Safety Analysis Engineering Analyst Madison Davis said she applied to the program because she wanted to push herself out of her comfort zone as well as learn from someone who is insightful and experienced.

“My mentor and I have gotten to know each other,” Davis said. “He mentored me by having one-on-one open conversations about the monthly topics and examples to help each of us learn. He has also brought me along into the field to learn about construction projects and fire protection engineering.”

Davis’s mentor and Projects Engineering Line Supervisor Luke Powell said he focused on establishing a comfortable environment where his mentees could tackle challenging areas, emphasizing mutual growth and positive intent in his coaching efforts.

“Like exploring a new playground, but with fences that protect you from risks of playing in the street, the program provided a structured framework and clear objectives, which helped formalize the relationship and ensure consistent progress,” Powell said. “A significant highlight has been witnessing rapid trust-building with my mentees, leading to tangible progress.”

With the successes of the pilot mentorship program, Talent Management plans to grow and improve the program next year to continue to build relationships and drive improvement in leadership development at Pantex. The pilot program was only available to non-bargaining employees, but, this year, Talent Management will be opening up the program to bargaining employees as well.