What is expected...

Today - a thought to consider from Coach Wooden

"Without supervision and leadership and a disciplined effort by all, much of our united strength will be dissipated by pulling against ourselves. Let us not be victimized by a breakdown from within." (pre-season letter to the team, 1965)

A disciplined effort by all. Not by some, not by one, not by a chosen few but by all.

If you are working in a leadership team or on any team for that matter, disciplined effort is critical from everyone.

What are some of the things that you may not be as disciplined in as you should be?
How can you improve in this area?
What steps can you take for improvement?
Who on your team can hold you accountable?

Mentors – From Zero to Heroes….

In preparing for my Christian Coaching Training I received information regarding the follow up work that would be taking place after the initial training next week. In this information we are instructed to review a list of potential coaches that we could ask to be assigned as our mentor coach for the next few months of our training. Bios were provided and we are being asked to review them and decide next week who we might want to choose.

This exercise got me thinking about mentors. I have been blessed and honored to have some pretty cool mentors. I have also, somehow, gotten a hold of some pretty bad ones too. If you didn’t think it was possible to have a bad mentor believe me, you can. It has been a while since I have had a real mentor. Perhaps because of these previous bad experiences I never really pursued it and then when I did pursue “looking” for a mentor the people I picked turned out to be duds.

But now it seems mentors are coming out of the woodwork for me. I have a mentor for the church consulting work I am pursuing, I have a mentor for my school work, and now I will have a mentor for my coaching practice. I went from zero to three in less than three months!

At first I wasn’t too sure about the idea of adding more people into my life that would ask me questions and hold me accountable to do what I say I am going to do. I mean really, sometimes you think that those “people” just get in the way. They are always the ones that want to slow you down with the facts and reality of a situation when you would rather sail on down the road of life not being accountable and not worrying about facts and reality at all. Sure facts are important but do you really need to be reminded of them all the time?

The truth is that we do. All of us need to have these “people” (AKA mentors) in our lives. They prove to be a valuable resource for us when we need them the most and sometimes when we think we need them the least.

Mentors provide knowledge, wisdom, and the sharing of life experience that friends, family, co-workers and peers simply cannot. Mentors can come and go throughout your lifetime but the lessons that they teach remain with you forever.

One other key aspect of having a mentor is being a mentor. We all know that at some point in our lives we must give back. What better way than to share the knowledge, wisdom and lifetime of experience that you have gained than to be a mentor?

In closing I would like to add this. Sometimes, not always, but sometimes mentors, can be your heroes too. I would caution you though people make mistakes and even your mentors/heroes are not going to get it right all the time. So, unless you have a real dud for a mentor, cut them some slack to if they get it wrong and do not put too much pressure on them to be something that they are not.

I think I am pretty lucky right now…my mentors are fast becoming my heroes and I am pretty excited about that. Even as I squirm in the face of becoming more accountable I am fortunate to have these people in my life. I hope that someday soon I can return the favor.

Who are your mentors and heroes?
Are you becoming a mentor to someone else?
Should you be?

Leadership - It's in YOU!

I have a friend that is struggling with leadership right now. He feels a great deal of pressure to lead and step up to the plate in a job that he has had for many years. Times have changed a bit in his organization and now there is tremendous opportunity for him to lead.

The problem...he doesn't see it in himself to step up and lead. Even though he has been leading for a long time. He has the qualities. He has a vision for what he wants his team to do and understands the mission that drives the organization. Others see it in him. He doesn't see it in himself.

Not everyone was born to be a leader. For some, leadership is a natural calling, for others it comes with experience, time, trial, and error. For some it's in their DNA, some learn it and gain leadership through experience. I would also agree that there are a number of people that are in leadership positions that should not be. More in some organizations than others I am sure.

But what do you do when others see in you what you do not see yet in yourself? I say yet because I think once someone else sees it in you, you can't deny it's there for very much longer. It will begin to show and reveal itself to you in more and more ways. I think this is true for leaders, even when they think they are not leading, they are. And they are probably doing it quite well.

So how do you get comfortable bringing out the leader in you? Start small and stay consistent. Don't change how you do things, continue to work harder and smarter on how you what you do well. Begin to look for little glimpses in yourself of what is already there. Journal it, document it somehow and learn from it. Get comfortable stretching yourself further in those situations.

There's a leader in you that is waiting to come out....suppressing it only sets you off in the wrong direction, and you and your organization will lose your vision, mission, and purpose, quickly.

Don't fear the leader already in you.