Kelly doesn’t work to his full potential - This statement has plagued me through most of my life. I understood the words and I understood the concept but I didn’t understand how the statement applied to me and my work ethic.

Kelly Hein's enrollment in the Leadership Skills Certificate program offered through Continuing Studies at RRU helped him realize he had more potential than he had realized. Now, he's in the MBA program and enjoying his first residency on campus.  _____________

I worked hard and always did everything I was asked to do. And I did it well. How could I, after working so diligently, receive such a cutting criticism? I examined my work ethic and could find little fault. After a number of years of examination I realized that work was not the issue but rather, the full potential portion of this statement. At that point, I made a conscious decision to not only understand what my full potential might be but to attempt to realize it.

I have always been a quick study with a keen interest in learning new concepts and skills. Unfortunately, I made use of this ability for personal pleasure only. After all, how much information do you have to be able to absorb to drive a truck or put a roof on a building?

After an industrial accident left me laying in a hospital bed facing the prospect of never walking again or, at the very least, spending most of the remainder of my life in a wheelchair, I had to face the reality of not being able to perform the type of physical work that I had been doing to this point.

It was time to focus on using my brain rather than my brawn.

I decided on a career in drawing machinery - using a modest artistic talent and a mechanical background. I went back to school. During my program at BCIT, I was given a 15-minute introduction to an emerging technology. It was called Computer Assisted Drafting. I realized that this was the way of the future and set my sights on learning as much about this in my spare time as possible. By the time the program was completed, I was tutoring my instructors in the use of AutoCAD. One year later, with a certificate in hand from BCIT, and the immediate threat of a wheelchair gone, I embarked on my new career.

As a manual (pencil and paper) draftsperson, I found myself getting involved in the actual design of machines along with the drawings. My interest was piqued but not fully pursued. After being offered and refusing the position of department head, complacency set in and I opted to start my own computer-assisted drafting company. The company was a partial success but not successful enough to support a family.

I checked with my local college for opportunities to teach computer-assisted drafting. As it was a relatively new technology, the demand was low but there was a need for someone to teach the first beginner computer software applications courses at Northern Lights College. So began my long-standing relationship with the college and computers in general. As it was a new set of courses at the college, I had to design them as well as instruct them and write my own manuals. After a number of years of developing, writing, and instructing college extension courses, I was offered a position instructing the computer component of an Office Administration program but a restructuring ended this endeavor.

A chance to regroup

After this disappointment, I decided on a change of pace and opted for an opportunity to greatly increase my income in the cab of a Kenworth. This was not an intellectually stimulating option but it did allow me a chance to regroup. Then a temporary contract back at the college as a technician and a few more instructional opportunities set the mind back to work. At the end of that contract, I was offered a position with Canadian FracMaster Ltd., contingent on my willingness to spend one-and-half to two years as a labourer before moving to a position of Service Supervisor.

I must have shown some aptitude and initiative as I was elevated to this position in four months. I was given the dregs of the station as a crew. No other supervisor would take on these misfits. No established employees would work for a new supervisor. Through teamwork and some leadership, my crew became the envy of the station, the only crew to be successful on every job. Every other labourer in the station had requested a transfer to my crew. Within four months of becoming a supervisor, I was asked to train new supervisors and oversee a number of projects that more experienced supervisors were unsure of. The closure of my station left me with little choice but to move on again.

Students who complete one of the Professional Management Skills Certificates in Continuing Studies may receive recognition for prior learning as part of the admissions evaluation process for RRU credit programs. Explore the 2009/2010 calendar for details. __________________

At this point in my life, I felt a need to contribute to my community in some meaningful way. I joined the local volunteer fire department. As I had been involved in first aid on some level for years, it was only natural that I got involved with the paramedic side of firefighting.

A short time after joining the department, we had a significant change in leadership. The senior medical officer and the fire chief retired. The new fire chief decided that I was the person needed to replace the medical officer. I became the new head medic. I was charged with training and supervising the medical personnel.

Within a few months, our department began to collect unprecedented accolades from the BC Ambulance Service and RCMP for our new and improved first responder program - an honour of which I am especially proud. As time went by, the newer firefighters were coming to me more often for guidance in both firefighting and medical situations. Senior officers were leaving more responsibilities in my hands.

Teaching again

While waiting for an opportunity to return to Northern Lights College, I again used my professional driver’s license to support my family. I ended up working for a company that was in the process of major expansion. After driving a truck for a winter, I was offered a position as assistant manager at the Peace River station as well as at the station that originally hired me and was located three blocks from my home. I chose to stay with my original station and became assistant manager, where I remained until the manager and I disagreed on some principle ethics and regulatory issues.

After a period of combination truck driving jobs and self-employment I found myself back at Northern Lights College as a computer technician. For some reason, I couldn’t seem to stay away from this place. As this position was only part-time, I found myself teaching again to make ends meet. When a full time position as a telecommunications and computer technician opened in the NLC regional office, I applied and was awarded the position - another skill set to master!

I continued to work there until a combination of personal (divorce) and employment issues caused me to move on to the next chapter of the cliffhanger that was my life. A short stint as an oilfield service supervisor followed by a return to the cab of a truck for three years gave me plenty of time to re-evaluate my life choices.

It was at this point that I realized the validity of the Kelly doesn’t work to his full potential statement. My entire work and school life were based on doing what I needed to do to make a modest living. At virtually every turn, I was pushed into a position of leadership. I was pushed into a place that I didn’t realize that I belonged. I was settling for mediocrity in career choices. I had more potential than I knew. Now, if only I could know my potential, I could realize it.

Since I was a small child I read Reader’s Digest magazines. One of the features that intrigued me was the Mensa quiz. I knew the answers, I could figure them out. I always wondered if I was Mensa smart or just good at quizzes. Maybe I could find out. After a period of weighing the benefits of realizing my abilities and the risk of finding out that I was limited in my intellectual opportunities, I sought out and found a Mensa proctor and arranged for a testing session. Not wanting to take unpaid leave for something so frivolous, I drove 400 miles through the night to get to my arranged test. Sleep deprived, I wrote the test. I was amazed; the test was relatively simple for me. I actually completed it before the allotted time had expired. I thought to myself that either I was Mensa material or was so dense as to not realize that I didn’t know the answers. A few weeks later I received a congratulatory letter and my Mensa membership card.
Intellectually, I did have potential.

Add a little serendipity

I now had to find a channel for my potential. I reviewed my resume, my life choices and realized that I was drawn to management and leadership. I had IT experience. I always seem to end up back at Northern Lights College. Combine the three, mix in some drive, determination and focus, add a little serendipity, and you have a career path. I decided the time was right for me to get educated. I applied to Athabasca University and enrolled in the Computers and Management Information Systems program.

I started with the Administrative Principles course. The plan was coming together.

Word had reached me that my telecommunications position was vacant and was being posted shortly. There was the serendipity! I applied, interviewed, and received the position.

Next step – drive, determination, and focus.

I decided at that point that my energies would be devoted to improving my skills, use the skills and knowledge that I had to make a difference to Northern Lights College. While avoiding “career limiting moves”, my abilities and potential began to get noticed by upper management. A change in administration brought Dwayne Hart to the college. [Editor's note: Hart was once a financial manager at RRU and is a graduate of the MBA program.]

In collaboration with our new college president and board of directors, our new vice president helped Northern Lights College embark on a path that fit directly with my plans. My enrollment in the Leadership Skills Certificate program offered through Continuing Studies at Royal Roads University - and delivered to interested employees at Northern Lights – brought me to Hart’s attention. And it was partially through him that I realized that I had even more potential that I had realized!

My brief introduction to Royal Roads University and then the MBA program started me thinking. I applied to the degree program and am now in my first residency on campus!

With the help of the new abilities that I will gain from the MBA program and with the opportunity to share the skills I have acquired through my life, I will now be able to bring my career path more in line with my abilities and passions.

With the added benefit of an MBA and the proficiencies that it encompasses, I have little doubt that I can change Kelly doesn’t work to his full potential to Kelly works to his full potential, whatever that may be, today.