An Eagle’s Eye View of Mentoring

Not every boy who joins Boy Scouts becomes an Eagle Scout. In fact, statistics tells us that fewer than 5% of Scouts will attain this rank. What I find especially interesting is the fact that every Eagle Scout I’ve ever met has stated that there was always at least one individual who played a key role in helping them attain the highest rank that Scouting offers; someone who served as a mentor and helped the young man achieve his goal.

In recent conversations with three gentlemen who, as youths, earned the rank of Eagle Scout, I asked them to talk about their mentors and what made those individuals Great Leaders and Great Mentors. Here are the characteristics that they cited. Unsurprisingly, each of the young men cited the same trait first …

  • They lead by example – The way great mentors live their lives and conduct themselves in all that they do constantly reinforces the values that they preach and the desire to achieve the goals that they set.
  • They want to be a mentor – Mentoring is a lot of work and the truly great mentors know it. Mentoring is not something that is done for a few minutes every now and then. It’s a full-time job because the mentor never knows when he/she is going to say or do something that rocks the mentee’s world and changes that world.
  • They are great listeners – Oftentimes, the mentee will tell the mentor what he/she needs at that point in time. It seldom is an outright statement of, “what I need today is…” Rather, the need is usually buried between the lines and the great mentor sees/hears it and determines how best to meet that need.
  • They are supportive and want to help the mentee grow – When a great mentor sees someone struggling or doing a job incorrectly, they do not criticize or make fun of the person’s struggles. Rather, great mentors see the mentee’s struggle as an opportunity to help that person grow, to become more proficient, and help is given in an encouraging way. The great mentor “catches the mentee doing something right” and then builds on that foundation to foster improvement.
  • They hold themselves and others accountable – Great mentors accept their responsibility as a mentor and hold themselves accountable for their own actions or inactions. Likewise, they hold the mentee accountable and guide the mentee to the desired outcomes by holding up a mirror of self-evaluation and asking the mentee, “what did you do well; what can you do to improve; when will you make the improvements?”
  • They often ask; they seldom tell – The truly great mentors seldom tell the person that they are mentoring what to do or how to do it. Instead, they guide them through the use of questions. They help the person discover the answers for themselves. The great mentor knows that it is not necessary for the mentee to always answer every question correctly; but instead, knowing that there is a better answer, asks more questions that lead to the better answer, the more effective solution, the best decision.

These Eagles also pointed out that Great Leaders are often great mentors, but not always. They observed that Great Leaders seek out those who have the potential to become great mentors and provide them with the opportunity to fulfill their promise and potential.

Have you had a great mentor; or, have you been a great mentor? Click “comment” and share your story of mentorship here.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

Will the Leader You Follow Nurture Your Talents and Help You Grow?

The great entrepreneur, author, and speaker Jim Rohn remarked, “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan.  And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

Normally, I agree with nearly everything Jim Rohn says. But, in this case, I believe that someone who is working for a Great Leader may be able to take exception to this quote.

Great Leaders have the unique ability to implement their plans for the attainment of their goals in ways that promote the growth and advancement of their followers. They recognize that with the privilege of leadership comes the responsibility to nurture the talents of those that they lead and to help the individuals on their teams grow both personally and professionally.

A Great Leader of my acquaintance used a method he called “Demonstrate/Alternate” to nurture and cultivate the skills of those he lead. He would first demonstrate how to handle a situation, encouraging the person that he was training to ask questions when they later reviewed the situation and how it was handled. Then, he would have the person he had trained deal with that situation the next time it arose. When he critiqued how the person had dealt with the situation, he would begin by asking “what do you feel you did well?”; “what would you do differently if you could do it all over again?” Only then would he offer his comments of what went well and what might be done differently.

If you want to be a Great Leader, seek out opportunities to help the members of your team grow. Provide those who choose to follow your lead with opportunities to learn by doing and promote their achievements to others who can help them grow and advance.

If you are one who follows the lead of another, you are not absolved of responsibility for your own career growth and advancement. Help your leader become a Great Leader by asking for chances to learn; first, by watching and then by doing. Take the initiative, set your goals, and create a plan that will help you reach those goals. If you do … and if you help your leader become a Great Leader … you just might find that, together, you accomplish far more than either of you thought possible.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

Great Leaders Do What’s Right … Even When It’s Not Popular

Opportunities to demonstrate leadership arise from time to time. In some instances, they appear at moments when the entire world appears to be teetering on the brink. Whatever action is taken will long be remembered and will be talked about for years. In other cases, these opportunities will be subtle, little noticed and without fanfare. They may … or may not … be talked about for a few seconds, minutes or hours; perhaps they will be remembered for a few days and then forgotten. Regardless, the person who would be a Great Leader must see and recognize the opportunity and take action.

While watching the History Channel recently, I saw an example of Great Leadership. The year was 1865. The war had ended and the country was trying to return to “normal”, whatever that might be. During a Sunday morning church service, an elderly black man arose from his seat in the section occupied solely by blacks, walked to the front of the church, and knelt down at the communion rail. The congregation froze. The minister stood staring, not knowing what to do. Not a sound could be heard in the church. Then, without saying a word, an elderly white man stood up and quietly walked to the communion rail and knelt down next to the black man. He knew that his action would surprise some and shock others. Yet, he did it because he knew that in the post-war world he lived in, it was the right thing to do.

His fellow parishioners recognized the man and knew that the war had left him penniless and homeless. They were, indeed, shocked; and yet, slowly, they followed his lead and walked to the front of the church to receive the sacrament of communion. They did this because they followed the lead of a Great Leader who had done the right thing. They followed Robert E. Lee.

Have you had the privilege of following a Great Leader who did what he or she knew to be the “right thing to do” even when it was not popular? Click “comment” and share your example of courageous leadership.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com