Young mining and metals workers often don't understand why their work matters. Leaders who ask "why" repeatedly can create an "aha" moment that connects daily tasks to real impact, like saving lives. Team culture and shared values drive commitment far more than money.
Chapters
If the young talent understands their purpose in the big scheme of things, I'm working in mining and I'm going to save a life at the end of the day. I mean, that's a big purpose that I could be excited about. But there's a disconnect. There's like, we're mining and we're going to make money. And it's important. Why is it important? Because we need metals. But why do we need metals? Let's keep asking why, why, why in order to help them get to their realizations. Like, okay, aha moment. But I think that's really what's missing. And in my career working in the mining industry, engineering firms, it was also an issue. So this is not new. And it was, at the end of the day, people joined because they loved the team. They loved the culture of the company. They loved the leadership. They loved what they stood for. And that's really what empowered them and ignited that flame and that passion into the mining and metals industry.