People
When we think of career advancement and leadership development, a good option is the use of a mentor. Whether you are a senior executive or an emerging leader, there is never a bad time to ask for the assistance of a mentor. Just as Plato had Socrates and Bill Gates has Warren Buffett, mentoring is an excellent opportunity for learning from a role model.
By definition, a mentor is someone with knowledge and experience that you can benefit from and is willing to share his or her acquired wisdom. The underlying idea is to improve yourself by connecting with their experience and insight. To get the most out of the relationship, here is a short list of things to keep in mind:
- Define your need. Take the time to define your mentoring needs. Are you a technically-minded person who could polish your relationship-building skills? Are you a junior executive who could benefit from the experience of someone more seasoned? Once you have a solid understanding of your mentoring needs, make a list of those who can potentially fill the role.
- Build the relationship. Learn as much as you can about the people on your list. Which ones have values that closely align with yours? Get to know them in a casual setting over coffee or lunch to see if you have a natural rapport. Don’t lead with “Will you be my mentor?” (That’s like asking someone to marry you on the first date.) Instead, get to know them. Start small and see where it goes.
- Set expectations. Once you’ve found a good match, take the time to set expectations for the relationship. Will you meet informally to chat over business challenges? Should you set up a weekly call to discuss an initiative? Maybe you’d prefer an interview style where you go over a set of questions. Choose the style that best meets your mentorship goal.
- Be prepared. If you’ve chosen wisely, there is a good chance that your mentor has just added you to an already busy schedule. Be respectful by showing up to your mentoring sessions on time and being prepared. If you agreed to do some homework, make sure you honor that commitment. If you chose an interview format, bring a list of carefully prepared questions.
- Move on. The ultimate goal is to arrive at a stage where you will no longer require the services of your mentor. Just as you set expectations going into the relationship, be clear when you feel it’s time to move on. Don’t allow the relationship to end in an awkward fizzle, but bring it to an honorable close. Thank your mentor for taking the time and caring enough to invest in your growth. Chances are, your relationship will evolve into a long-term trusted friendship.
If you are the type of person who takes on challenges, you’ll likely have a series of formal and informal mentors along your career path. If you make the effort to manage these relationships well, they can be some of the most important connections of your lifetime. And when you get an invitation for coffee from a junior colleague, be prepared to use your positive experiences to pass it on.
Question: What knowledge or skills are you hoping to acquire that a mentor could be of help?
Driven by the premise that excellence is the result of aligning people, purpose and performance, Center for Executive Excellence facilitates training in leading self, leading teams and leading organizations. To learn more, subscribe to receive CEE News!
![6 Lessons from Children’s Books to File Under “Leadership”]()
Leadership
Just because we get older doesn’t mean that the lessons from the pages of children’s books are any less relevant. In fact, re-reading some of those passages may prove more poignant and fitting in our adult years. Here are six children’s books worth turning back to for lasting lessons in leadership.
1. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
What it’s about: The Velveteen Rabbit, a newcomer to the nursery, begins his journey to become real – through the love of a child.
The leadership gem: “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or who have to be carefully kept.”
2. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
What it’s about: The adventures of a boy who wouldn’t grow up.
The leadership gem: “The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”
3. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day World by Judith Viorst
What it’s about: Alexander knew it was going to be a terrible day when he woke up with gum in his hair.
And it got worse…
The leadership gem: “My mom says some days are like that. Even in Australia.”
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
What it’s about: Harry’s second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The leadership gem: “It’s our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
5. The Little Prince by Antione De Saint-Exupéry
What it’s about: This is the story of a grown-up meeting his inner child, embodied by a little prince he meets in the desert.
The leadership gem: “Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
6. The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney
What it’s about: After a ferocious lion spares a cowering mouse that he’d planned to eat, the mouse later comes to his rescue, freeing him from a poacher’s trap.
The leadership gem: “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”
Books like these helped lay the foundation for where we are now as leaders. We can still appreciate the magic in their pages when we read them as children, and the timeless insight that apply to us as adults.
Question: What children’s books have inspired you along your leadership journey?
Driven by the premise that excellence is the result of aligning people, purpose and performance, Center for Executive Excellence facilitates training in leading self, leading teams and leading organizations. To learn more, subscribe to receive CEE News!
Leadership
Most leaders are naturally high achievers. Their schedules are busy, they keep long hours, and their drive is tireless. Unfortunately, they may also be overscheduled, buried under their work, and on the edge of burnout. Over time, both the leader and the organization can suffer.
Successful leaders know what needs to be done and how to leverage the talents of their team. They know how to broker work to the right people, in the right proportions. In short, they delegate.
As Stephen Covey observed,
“Effectively delegating to others is perhaps the single most powerful high-leverage activity there is.”
But delegation can be tricky. It can be used as an excuse for everything from dumping workload onto subordinates, or as a dynamic tool for motivating and training your team to realize their full potential. Below are four levels of work distribution. Ask yourself which level you are on.
Level 1: Doing. Many people get their first leadership titles because they are Doers. Action, initiative, and productivity are part of their toolkit. They deliver high-quality results quickly with no drag from others. The benefits of working at Level 1 are knowledge, growth, and reward. The danger comes when we’ve done so much so well for so long that we begin to burnout. Here are some symptoms of burnout as described by Dr. Herbert Freudenberger in his book, Burn-Out: The High Cost of Achievement.
Level 2: Dumping. Level 2 is a coping mechanism from too much Doing. Frustrated by doing it all, leaders begin dumping work on others. They unload menial tasks on their team. The good news is, they’ve gained a little breathing room. The bad news is, team members spend more time doing mundane, repetitive work. This limits their ability to take on added responsibility and grow. Healthy team members will not bear this kind of environment for long. No one likes to get dumped on.
Level 3: Delegating. By Level 3, leaders have gained the ability to plan ahead and determine how to best delegate projects. They find people with available time and suitable talent. Skilled delegators take the time to match the individual’s development level for a given assignment with the appropriate leadership style. This delegation style is also known as Situational Leadership. Work gets done at a healthy pace and no one burns out, but it’s still not the highest level to be achieved.
Level 4: Developing. Successful leaders know that there is a need beyond creating a highly productive team. At Level 4, leaders invest their time, energy, and thinking into growing others as leaders. They gauge each team member’s potential for growth and leadership. This practice compounds success, because bringing out the best in a person works as a catalyst for bringing out the best in the team. At this stage, production becomes secondary to outcome. As author Tom Peters notes, “Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”
It’s true that delegating something the first time can take more time and effort. You could do it faster and better yourself. But if you want to avoid burnout and take your organization to the next level, you’ll find the investment is worth it.
Question: As a leader, what level do you choose to get the work done? What would it take to move to the next level?
Letter from the Founder
Welcome to the thirty-sixth issue of CEE News!
By the time you read this, I will have embarked on a week-long cruise to Alaska. If you are opening this on Tuesday, I will be spending the day on the island of Ketchikan, cruising the George Inlet Waterway, then feasting on Dungeness crabs. Wednesday is the Tracy Arm Fjord.
The cruise will be spent with my husband, my mother, my three brothers and their spouses. Nine of us altogether. By my estimate (based on personal knowledge backed by Facebook shares, likes and comments), three have political leanings that are not shared by the other six. I am among the minority.
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Business In Focus
A closer look at companies executing leadership excellence
What do the Disney movie Bambi and the BBC reality show Last Man Standing have in common? Corey Rennell, Founder of CORE Foods. The same week that Corey first watched Bambi at age 7, his father brought home a deer he’d shot on a hunting trip. By the time he was old enough to decide what food he would and would not eat, Rennell declared himself a vegan. While attending Harvard, Rennell was recruited as a contestant on Last Man Standing.
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