This past Saturday, I had the privilege of hearing my good friend, Delatorro McNeal II, CSP, speak to the National Speakers Association of Central Florida Speakers Academy class where he made this profound statement, “People who know you love you as you are. Mentors love you too much to leave you where you are.”
Great leaders/mentors recognize that one of the greatest measures of their effectiveness will be the legacy that they create and how they pass the baton to their successors. Thus, they are always looking for opportunities to share what they know and help their followers grow and prepare for their own leadership opportunities. Rather than always telling their followers what to do, they ask the subordinate “what do you think you should do?”. Rather than mandating every step to be followed, the great leader/mentor provides the opportunity for their followers to chart their own course and, at times, to fail so that they can learn from their mistakes.
Making mistakes, stumbling, and failing are painful. However, the great leader/mentor knows that those who will become the great leaders of the future must, occasionally, suffer these setbacks in order to reach their full potential. When they occur, the great leader/mentor is there to help the person regain their footing and asks, “OK…what can be learned from this experience and what can be done differently next time?”
Great leaders/mentors love their student/followers too much to protect them from every bump and boo-boo that provide the opportunities to learn and grow. As another great leader/mentor once said, “No man who gets knocked down by life and gets back up has failed. He only fails when he fails to get back up or insists that someone or something won’t let him get back up.” Great leaders and mentors build their legacy one person at a time and measure their success by the success of those that they have nurtured.