Mentoring

We lead for a season and a reason – teach the next generation to lead

lead through mentoringWhen we think of the word season it reminds us that throughout a year we cycle through spring, summer, fall and winter – seasons come and go.  They are with us for brief periods then the next season appears.  In the same way we only lead for brief cycles in our life.

In each season of leadership we are there for a reason.  We are there to lead through a business need and in all cases we must teach the next generation to lead as we follow our seasons.

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The leader Who Strives to Serve, Will Thrive for Sure

 

The leader who strives to serve will thrive for sureA true leader is the one who strives for the success of others and not themselves.

Those who don’t serve aren’t successful in the long run:
Regardless of their position
Regardless of their authority
Regardless of their responsibility

Those that do serve are successful in the long run:
Because of their words
Because of their actions
Because of their results

Your job as a leader is to do all you can to help others achieve their full capabilities. Those on the receiving end of your service must work hard to use the opportunities provided to develop their strengths.

Will this always work? Will you always serve? Will everyone succeed? Of course not.

We all fall short of our best desires at one time to another. But if you continue to strive for the success of others they will thrive.

In the end, the one who strives for the success of others will receive more in return than those who focus on their own success.

You are a mentor and are being mentored every day – Part 2

In my last post I discussed how we came to use the word mentor to mean a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.  It originated with the Greek classic The Odyssey where Mentor was a man whom the king appointed to protect and counsel his family while he was away at war.

Through that story we saw that until Mentor was filled with wisdom, he fell far short of his role as protector and counselor.

If you are a mentor to someone else, how can you be sure you are giving wise counsel?

If you have a mentor, how can you be sure you are receiving wise counsel?

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You are a mentor and are being mentored every day

What is a mentor? I looked up the word on Dictionary.com and found a definition of a mentor that makes perfect sense: A mentor is a “wise and trusted counselor or teacher.”

I found another rather strange definition of a mentor on the Miriam Webster site: Mentor was a “friend of Odysseus entrusted with the education of Odysseus’ son Telemachus”

The name Mentor refers to a man from the Greek classic The Odyssey.  In this story, Mentor is described as “The close companion to whom Odysseus, when he set forth, had entrusted his family, and charged to keep all safe till his return.” The king had “set forth” to fight the Trojan War and left behind his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus.

Since we now use the name Mentor to describe “a wise and trusted counselor or teacher” you could assume that Mentor did a tremendous job in protecting and guiding young Telemachus – Let’s see.

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The Cycle of Leadership: Give to Receive

There is a cycle to energy.  It can’t be created or destroyed; it simply changes forms.  According to The Law of Conservation of Energy, potential energy can be converted to kinetic energy, which can be converted to thermal energy, but the original energy remains.

There is a cycle to water.  The limited amount of water continuously cycles through its various forms: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

 

There is also a cycle to Successful leadership:  Give that which you have received and open the pathway to receive even more.

It’s now part of everyday knowledge that Steve Jobs received the idea for the computer mouse at a visit to Xerox labs. He gave that idea to the world through the Apple Macintosh, and the mouse became part of every computer.  The mouse lasted until the cycle of inspiration came around and the world received the touch screen in the iPhone and iPad.

The successful leader will teach, speak and write about the leadership lessons they know and receive so that they can be part of the cycle of leadership.

Look for ways to pass on knowledge as fast you can and as fast as your audience can receive.  Trust me, you will receive more than you can imagine in return.

Now Is The Time To Share What You Know

Each year I get together with about one hundred leaders from around the world to be mentored by John Maxwell over several days.

John and his team take us places we might never see on our own, where we learn about leadership from the best. This year was Boston’s Fenway Park where we talked with Hall of Fame Red Sox great Jim Rice.

Along with lessons on leadership from Jim Rice, we all took batting practice and had the chance to shag fly balls in the outfield.

Jim told us how he was mentored as a ball player throughout his life. He honed his athletic ability in his neighborhood growing up with older kids where he learned how to work hard to be better every day. The art of catching a fly ball off the Green Monster came from Carl Yastrzemski when Jim was a rookie. Ted Williams showed him how to hit out of a slump before Rice was in a slump.

He then showed all one hundred of us how to swing the bat to ensure a single the way Ted Williams taught him. Wow, batting lessons from a hall of famer – it doesn’t get better than that.

Jim Rice taught me that sharing what you know with others is best done before they need to use your knowledge.

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