John Maxwell

Mentoring – Share your story

Mentoring – Share your story

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’ve seen this movie before, and I know how it ends?”  This statement rarely refers to a movie, but to a situation, challenge, opportunity that previously ended badly for the person who says this.  Well I have been to movies where the ending was great.  I have also been involved in situations, challenges, and opportunities that went very well.  When I think of mentoring, I think of it as an opportunity to share my story; those that didn’t go well, and those that were a success.  Both in an effort to provide direction that can be used by others as they work to achieve their goals.

Mentoring provides an impact in three areas:  Providing options, Describing the landscape, and Inspiring movement.

Provide options. When I begin a new activity I sometimes think, “I don’t even know what questions to ask, let alone the answers.” My first activity then is to find out what I don’t know so I can learn that before I start.  For mentoring to be successful it needs to provide both direction and directions.  Direction entails the big picture that we will discuss in describing the landscape.  Directions is the movement that is inspired to arrive at your destination. Both are essential and as Simon Sinek said, “There is a difference between giving directions and giving direction.” My first mentor in writing and publishing my book The Leadership GPS provided guidance in what impact I could make, what I needed to do and who I needed to meet to learn how to be successful, then introduced me to those who would help me in my endeavor.  When I mentor individuals, I look to set the stage with the big picture before moving on the tactical advise.

Describe the landscape.   If you travel to new places, it’s hard to imagine what is around each corner until you have been there.  You can research the major tourist locations, but you really don’t know a city until you walk its streets and interact with the people.  This is why many people have tour guides for new locations.  A mentor is a tour guide to success.  The landscape of publishing was a mystery to me when I was ready to launch my book.  I had a great mentor that described publishing to me up front so I could navigate my way through.  I have traveled many places in my career and can describe the landscape to others who have not yet experienced it for themselves.  John Maxwell put it this way, “One of the greatest values of mentors is the ability to see ahead what others cannot see and to help them navigate a course to their destination.”

Inspire movement. Oliver Wendel Holmes said, “The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving.”   Movement, that is an important step in any situation.  When I was being mentored in book writing the first question to me was, “How many pages have you written today?”  That was followed it up with, “It’s hard to be an author if you haven’t written anything.”  When I mentor an individual, we talk about where they want to go then we discuss practical steps they can take now that will move them in that direction.

Mentoring is an opportunity to share your story and expand the opportunity for success to many.

Give from what you have

How can I be a mentor, teacher, coach if I don’t know everything?  No one knows everything, but everyone knows something.  Each of has unique strengths, skills, and experiences to draw upon and provide guidance to others.  Maybe it’s just a different perspective that is needed at the moment.  I find that in mentoring I can help others in this way. I also discovered that I have benefited from each opportunity.

“I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.” – Edward Everett Hale

To help others.  When someone willing to learn and grow asks for my help, I do what I can to share what I have learned, experienced, and witnessed to provide a potential roadmap to be considered.   I am not saying that my views are the only path, nor even the right path for the individual.  I am merely recounting what I have done or would do in a similar situation. John Maxwell says we should, “Be a river and not a reservoir,” meaning to pass on what you get to benefit the next person.

 “When you learn, teach. When you get, give.”– Maya Angelou

To help yourself.  Helping others through mentoring returns many dividends.  First, I get to experience someone growing to achieve more than they have before. Next I build a connection that may one day provide help to me.  Third, I learn more about other strengths, skills, and experiences than I have that I would never understand if it were not for mentoring.

“Those who are happiest are those who do the most for others.” – Booker T. Washington

Building Integrity

We all follow leaders. Somewhere there is someone you look to for direction, guidance, and encouragement. When we hear “leader” we often think of it in terms of business – the manager.  While the manager is certainly in a position to exhibit leadership, there are those who are not managers who are also looked to for direction, guidance, and encouragement.  Those that are sought out leaders all possess one trait that allows them to stand out from others – integrity.

“It is true that integrity alone won’t make you a leader, but without it you will never be one.” – Zig Ziglar

By integrity I mean they can be relied upon to direct, guide, and encourage you to success. If you want to be a true leader with what should you do?  People most often imitate what they see and not what they are told.  Here are three simple messages that will build integrity: Do what you say. Do it first. Do it well.

Do what you say. Leaders set expectations for their teams.  A leader with integrity meets the same expectations themselves.  This applies to all things small and large – the daily activity to the year-end goals all matter.

“Your words and deeds must match if you expect people to trust in your leadership.” – Kevin Kruse

Do it first.“I am right behind you,” is not a phrase that is often heard from leaders with integrity.  These leaders don’t say “go” they say, “let’s go”.

“A Leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”– John Maxwell

Do it well.If you want to be a leader that people follow, you have to lead them to success. Leaders with integrity demonstrate this by being successful themselves.

“You can’t lead if you don’t produce.”– Mark Cole

Who’s left when the leader’s gone?


Certainly, there will be people to take over.  But are they prepared to take over?  They don’t have to lead the same way, but they have to lead.  Are they ready for that? More succinctly, did the leader prepare them for that? According to John Maxwell, “A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession.”

Succession is preparing for you to be gone by preparing the next leaders.  Everything you do as a leader should be focused on succession because your job as a leader is to create more leaders.

“Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders”– Tom Peters

Here are the steps to getting people ready to lead and succeed without you.

Share the work now. There is no time like the present for your next leaders to start trying things they will need to master later.  Give them part of each task that you do. Start with the simple ones but make sure you explain how it fits in the bigger purpose.

“If you have a common purpose and an environment in which people want to help others succeed, the problems will be fixed quickly.” –Alan Mulaly

Let them try new ideas now.  You have to face the facts that you may know a lot, but you don’t know everything.  Chances are that your potential successors have ideas that you’ll never have.  When you’re gone they will have to use their ideas to succeed so you might as well let them practice now.  Start small and let this skill develop.  Ask questions and challenge but don’t direct.

“We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.” – Galileo Galilei

Start stepping aside little by little now.As you share the work and let them try new ideas, you will eventually need to hand over responsibility on some things.  Start handing over the reins now a little at a time so when you leave the transition will be effortless.

“Succession planning should be gradual and thoughtful, with lots of sharing of information and knowledge and perspective, so that it’s almost a non-event when it happens.”– Anne Mulcahy

The example of leadership

If you want to be a great leader, set a great example – people are watching.  Success comes from accomplishing daily tasks that bring us closer to our goals.  What you do every day is important, and the influence that comes from the example you set is greater than anything you might say.  As John Maxwell says, “Leadership is influence, nothing more and nothing less.”

We do what we see, not just what we learn.   We may learn from reading, listening, or experiencing – but when it comes to seeing how what we learned really works, it comes from observing.  Before I read a book or attend a conference I research the author or speakers to see how they have implemented what they will be sharing. Similarly, I pay attention to the actions of those I follow; are they living the message they espouse?

“We trust our eyes rather than our ears; the road by precept is long and tedious, by example short and effectual.”– Seneca

Perseverance is the best example.  What a daunting task it is to think that your actions are being watched as an example for others to follow.  How can I possibly set an example of leadership when I don’t always do everything right?  Thankfully the bar of leadership is not set on perfection.  And one of the best examples you can give is persevering through mistakes and setbacks.  These are part of our life experience and we’re better for developing the ability to accept this and work through them to success.

“In the realm of ideas, everything depends on enthusiasm; in the real world, all rests on perseverance.”– Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

 

Service as Success

You don’t hire people to work for you, you hire people so you can work for them.  Your job as a leader is to help people succeed.  In his book, The Stuff of Heroes: The Eight Universal Laws of Leadership, William Cohen said, “Helping your employees is as important as, and many times more so than, trying to get the most work out of them.” 

You start with service. The basis for your actions as a leader should be the service you are providing to your team.  What are you doing to help them succeed? That is the number one question.

“It is high time the ideal of success should be replaced with the ideal of service.” ― Albert Einstein

You will get to know yourself through your service.  Helping other succeed causes us to dig deep into our knowledge and abilities.  Pulling from all you can to provide the best individual service to each person will hone your skills and perhaps lead you to solutions you might never have otherwise seen. 

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

Your success is defined by the success of those you serve. Leaders like to win, so how do you keep score in the area of service?  Simple, it’s the success of those you serve.  Their success is your success.

“True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not to enrich the leader.” ― John C. Maxwell

Big goals – What do you do first?

Michael Johnson is a retired U.S. track athlete. He is the winner of four Olympic gold medals and eight World Championship gold medals in the 200 and 400 Meter races. Johnson had a strategy for running the 400 Meter that he called the 4 P’s. The 4 P’s are Push, Pace, Position, and Pray. With a big goal in mind – win the 400 Meter race – Johnson’s strategy broke the race into four 100 meter races each with its own definition of success, that when achieved brought Johnson one step closer to his goal:

Push – Run the first 100 meters near top speed to set tone for the race.

Pace – Keep a good speed – under your maximum – for the next 100 meters.

Position – Press the next 100 meters so you come around the first at the last turn.

Pray – Give all you’ve got left for the last 100 meters, arms pumping and run strong for the win.

This strategy worked for Michael Johnson in track, and it can work for you in anything you want to accomplish. Here’s how I think about this strategy with the big goals I have for my life:

First, break the big goals down into little goals where success can be measured in the short-term.

Next get going – fast – on the first step and rack up quick wins for motivation.

Then, with success on the first little goal, tackle the next little goal, then the next…in the same fashion until the big goal is achieved.

I know this sounds too simple. But you’d be amazed at how often I see people give up on their big goals because the payoff is just too far away to keep up the motivation.

Here’s a real-life example on how this worked for me:

Several years ago, I had a big goal to publish a book on leadership to guide emerging leaders. Here are the small goals I used to achieve that big goal with my book The Leadership GPS.

  • -Read books on leadership for information and style
  • -Research historical leaders to document repeatable patterns
  • -Attend conferences with selected authors to gain connections
  • -Combine research with chosen book style and write manuscript
  • -Talk with author connections for advice on publishing
  • -Publish The Leadership GPS and see it become an Amazon Best Seller

Before I wrote the manuscript to my book, I talked with John Maxwell and he gave me advice on what to do first if you want to be an author:   The very definition of being an author requires you have written something. Simple, but powerful lesson. If I wanted to publish a book I needed to write a book. And if I wanted to write a book I needed to start with one word on one page and continue from there.

If you want to achieve big goals you have to know what to do first.

 

Why do people follow certain leaders?

Some leaders are more successful than others at attracting people to their team. They seem to have few people leaving, unless they are promoted, and can easily fill any opening they have. What do these leaders do that sets them apart? These great leaders accelerate the dreams of their followers.

Are dreams important? William Shakespeare wrote, “We are such stuff as dreams are made on.” The dreams we have for our lives are who we are, who we want to be, where we want to go, there our hope for the future.

So yes, people’s dreams are very important to them. And if you want to be a great leader, they should be important to you. Master motivator, Les Brown laid out the plan for success and dreams when he said, “Help others achieve their dreams and you will achieve yours.”

Here are the steps to accelerating the dreams of those who you lead:

Know their dreams. Leading people is nothing more than unlocking the full potential of everyone who follows you. If you want the best team, then you need to know their dreams to bring out their passion in life and work.

“The dreams and passions stored within hearts are powerful keys which can unlock a wealth of potential.”– John Maxwell

Connect their dreams with the team. Each person has unique dreams that are theirs alone. There are many rolls on each team, many activities, many projects, much that needs to be done. Once you discover each person’s dreams, you should find a way to incorporate them into the plans of the team to bring the best thinking to everything you do.

“We need men who can dream of things that never were.”– John F. Kennedy

Lead the dream and the team to succeed. Great leaders can, and must, bring success to their team and to the members of their team. One without the other is not sustainable. The best possible work environment is for everyone to live their dreams while accomplishing the work.

“I don’t dream at night, I dream all day; I dream for a living.”– Steven Spielberg

 

How are you doing? Read the signs.

read the signsDo you have to wait for someone to tell you how you’re doing to know how you are doing? Not if you read the signs along the way.

“Elaine, kudos for a job…done.” Seinfeld television show fans know that this is what the character Elaine heard from her boss when he returned from sabbatical to find his company in disarray after leaving her in charge. He said this right before he demoted her. Should she have seen the signs? Of course, this was a sitcom where the setup to this punchline was obvious – and funny.

Are the signs in real life as obvious as the signs in a sitcom? They are if you know how to read them. Here are three areas where leaders need to be successful and the signs that you should look for along the way.

Is your growth working? The world is constantly changing. Customer needs and methods to deliver these needs evolve at a rapid pace. How can you and your team be part of a changing organization in a changing world if you are not changing with it? If the only activities you participate in are those that you already know how to do well, then you are not growing.

The signs that you should look for to know if your growth is working are 1) The openness to consider new ideas before the final idea is settled on 2) The opportunity to pilot new processes before the final process is put into place and 3) The willingness to claim success when you learn what not to do because you tried something new.

“If you aren’t making any mistakes, it’s a sure sign you are playing it too safe.” – John Maxwell

Is your leadership working? We know that leaders deliver results through the people they lead. The success of the team depends on the success of everyone you lead. Personal and business success are both important and must be achieved together.

The signs that you should look for to know if your leadership is working are 1) The results that your team delivers on a consistent basis 2) The ability of each member of your team to do their best and 3) The desire for people to want to be on your team.

“Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily even if you had no title or position.” – Brian Tracy

Is your teaching working? The best leaders have teams that can execute on the vision without anyone telling them how to do it. The most important measure of success of leadership is the success of your team when you are not involved.

The signs that you should look for to know if your teaching is working are 1) The plans that are designed that are not just a repeat of your ideas 2) How often you are genuinely impressed by the ability of your team to accomplish things you couldn’t do 3) The pride you feel when your team goes further than you have

“The greatest sign of success for a teacher…is to be able to say, the children are now working as if I did not exist.” – Maria Montessori

 

 

Growth: be who we’ve become.

growth - goldfishIt’s said that a goldfish will only grow to the size of the tank it is in. It would actually be more accurate to say that the environment that exist inside of a small tank can limit the growth of a goldfish. A high concentration of naturally occurring items such as nitrates in water and certain pheromones in the fish itself are what can limit growth. Moving to a larger tank where these items are diluted removes their negative effects and allows the fish to grow to its full potential.

Growth in individuals and companies is the same. We will not grow to our full potential if our environment is growth inhibiting. Do we have challenging goals that stretch our abilities? Are we surrounded by others who encourage our growth? If we are, then we are on our way to being all we can become. If we are not, maybe it is time to change the environment or change to a different environment.

 “Growth is the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not.  When I see a person beginning to separate themselves from the pack, it’s almost always due to personal growth.” – John Maxwell

 Growth is not a destination; it is a direction. Growth is moving forward not backward. Growth is meant to be continuous.

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have not meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin

In fact, according to Henry Ford, “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”

When we grow we are like the fish who no longer fits into the small tank – we leave behind what we were so we can be who we’ve become.

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