Coram Deo ~

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Leadership Attributes: Developing Others

Helping others to develop to their fullest potential is my favorite aspect of leadership. I always enjoyed working with team members and mentees, and still enjoy the mentoring or discipling relationships that I am a part of. There is something about working with individuals who want to grow, improve, and reach their highest potential that energizes me. It’s a joy to see someone achieve their goals, which is oftentimes securing their first formal leadership position.
Pouring yourself into others was modeled for me early by my career mentor, Mel. I saw the joy he took when one of his staff members developed and moved on to higher levels of responsibility. He wasn’t interested in keeping them on his staff, which would have been comfortable for him in the short-term, but instead “pushed them out of the nest”. They knew he would always be available for mentoring later as needed.

I’ve never turned down anyone wanting to enter into a mentoring or discipling relationship with me, feeling it is what I should be doing as a leader. In addition, even though I’m the mentor, I always learn a lot from these relationships. John Maxwell has written that as a leader, you will never regret the time you invest in people, as raising up others is one of the greatest joys a leader can have. He goes on to say that it is essential to focus on raising others to a higher level.
It is important for mentor leaders to know how they can help others to develop. If it is a current team member, for example, the leader should have a good idea on what is needed as far as development and growth. If it is a mentoring relationship with someone outside of your team, the prospective mentee will need to express those areas that they need help with, to see if is something that the leader can actually help with. For example, if someone approached me to help them to grow in their technical skills, I would tell them that I would not be the best one to help them, and instead refer them to someone better suited to equip them. Also, it’s important to remember that the mentee has to drive the relationship. This helps to make them accountable for showing up to the meetings and doing the necessary pre-work.
Many of my mentoring relationships included reading and discussing a book such as Maxwell’s The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Although the content of the book is important, I always found that the discussion around what we read was even more important. Its best to use a book that has questions for reflection and discussion, if possible.
Where I worked, we would at times provide high performing employees development opportunities in which they led a team for 12-18 months. It’s very important to take full advantage of such opportunities. I remember hearing from one of my leaders about an individual who they felt had done the best job of taking advantage of the opportunity given them. That individual has since gone on to have a good career in leadership and has even higher potential.
Another development suggestion is to give employees “stretch” assignments. A “stretch” assignment is outside/above their current level of responsibilities, and one in which success is not guaranteed. An example of such an assignment would be to lead a strategic effort.
Lastly, when helping others to develop, it’s important to help them to get into their “strengths zone”. As I referenced above, leading a highly technical team would not have been a good use of my skills, and would not have served that team well. Maxwell states that good leaders help others find their strength zones and empower them to work in them.
These are just a few of my thoughts about developing others. Entire books have been written on the subject. What would you add to what I have written?


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3 Benefits of Mentoring

Maxwell on Mentoring

I’m a big proponent of the value of mentoring relationships, and never turn anyone down who wants to enter into a mentoring relationship with me. I would describe a mentor as a more experienced, oftentimes older person investing their time and pouring themselves into the lives of others who are following them on the leadership journey. I do however, think that the mentee/protégé/the one being mentored, needs to drive the relationship, because only they know what they need from their mentor.

My favorite book on mentoring is Tony Dungy’s 2010 book The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams that Win Consistently. Dungy writes that in his life and career he has seen all kinds of leaders, but the ones that had the greatest impact on his life are the select few that have been not only leaders, but also mentors. He states that mentor leaders have a direct, intentional, and positive impact on those they lead. My career mentor was a leader named Mel. I reported to Mel twice early in my career, and as I did, I came to respect him a great deal. Now, many years later, I still do a lot of things based on what and how Mel taught me.

There are many reasons to serve as a mentor. Here are three of them:

  1. To give back to others. I worked with a leader who was investing time in others by facilitating book clubs. He was very busy, but told me that others had invested in him when he was early in his career and this was one way he was helping to give back. Dungy tells us that the key to creating new generations of leaders is looking beyond yourself toward others – toward those you have been called to lead, and growing them into new leaders through intentional mentoring relationships. He states that it is “about them, not us”. Are you giving back and investing your time in others?
  2. To learn from others. I remember having a team member who was involved in a “reverse mentoring” relationship. A leader was mentoring them on leadership, and they in turn were mentoring the leader on an IT discipline that the team member had a good deal of knowledge and experience in. It was a win/win situation for both of them. I find the same when I am reading leadership books with mentees. I find that I very much benefit from the insights they bring to the discussion about the book. Have you had experiences in which you not only taught but learned while mentoring others?
  3. It is an obligation of all leaders. All leaders owe it to those coming behind them in the leadership pipeline to share their experiences with them. Dungy states that the key to becoming a mentor leader is learning how to put other people first. He says that the question that burns in the heart of the mentor leader is “What can I do to make other people better, to make them all that God created them to be?” I take great joy in seeing my mentees move into leadership.

Dungy writes that we all need to realize the platforms that we have and take advantage of the mentoring opportunities they provide. He tells us that it is easy to get wrapped up in our own busy lives, but there are opportunities all around us where we can make a difference in someone’s life – we just need to look for them.

Those pursuing formal leadership positions on my team have multiple mentors, so there is a need for experienced leaders to serve as mentors. What about you? Are you mentoring anyone at this time? Who is in your circle that you can make a lasting difference in their lives? I encourage you to serve as a mentor leader.