Who’s INVESTING in You?
The people I consider leaders and givers
are constantly busy. They are continuously giving their time, treasure,
energy, and influence to help make their businesses, organizations, communities
and families better. They invest so much of themselves in others that they
forget they need to have someone investing in them! That investment is what Dr.
Tim Elmore from Growing Leaders calls
“emotional fuel”. So my question this week is who is filling your tank? Who is
investing in you?
The ongoing theme of this Thinking Out
Loud! blog is its focus on leadership and personal effectiveness. I have become
convinced that any type of growth plan has to include some sort of mentoring component. Mentors are
critical at any stage of our lives in order to fuel our success in many areas
of our lives – financial, vocational, relational, spiritual, etc. Here is what
mentors do for us:
Roles of Mentors
- Identify and capitalize on our
Strengths
- Inspire and develop Character
- See and evaluate our potential
Blind Spots
- Clarify areas of Focus in our lives
- Close gap between Potential and Performance or Knowing vs Doing
There are many misconceptions about what
mentoring is and is not. For me, mentoring is an intentional, goal orientated,
and developmental relationship where one individual agrees to learn from and be
held accountable by another. This is more than just pleasant conversation. It
is a powerful relationship that is created on purpose for a purpose!
I am sure many of us have had great
mentoring relationships in the past. That teacher that believed in you, a coach that inspired you, the college professor that opened horizons, or maybe
that first boss who saw your potential. What about now? If no one is pouring
into your life currently, I recommend the following:
- Identify areas of your life where you need to grow (I know some people who have many mentors for the different parts of their life listed above!)
- Identify those individuals who have enough expertise or experience who can take you to the next level.
- Broker a relationship where you can meet or interact in some format on a consistent basis.
- Mutually Agree when the relationship has run its course (keep in mind some mentoring relationships will be aligned with different seasons in your life and that’s OK!)
Keep in mind that it is possible to be
mentored by someone you do not even know. In my case, I do not personally know
John Maxwell but I joined his team and have committed to studying his books and
videos on a consistent basis. He acts as a “virtual mentor” for me.
As always, if I can help you Get Better, Be
Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would love to hear from you. Also, as a bonus, if
you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact
information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring
initiative program in your organization!
Yours
in Leadership,
Bill
Faulkner
Co-Founder
– Out Loud Strategies
Independent
Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
Email me at bill@outloudinc.com
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