Leadership is more than occupying a privileged seat at the boardroom table or having an impressive looking nameplate on one’s office door. Leadership, the best kind of leadership, is when the leader seeks to raise up other leaders who may eventually out perform him or her. Quality leadership is always on the lookout for younger leaders who will thrive under the care of a mentor. I have discovered two excellent resources that help explain the power of mentoring and the kind of lasting impact it can have upon the mentor, the mentoree, and the organization.
These are some notes from Bobby and Richard Clinton:
“Mentoring is a relational process, in which someone who knows something, the mentor, transfers that something (the power resources such as wisdom, advice, information, emotional support, protection, linking to resources, career guidance, status) to someone else, the mentoree, at a sensitive time so that it impacts development.” Pg. 2.4
“We categorized mentor involvement into various types depending on kind of empowerment, deliberateness, depth, and awareness of the effort. Nine types emerged and were categorized: disciple, spiritual guide, coach, counselor, teacher, sponsor, contemporary model, historical model, and divine contact.” Pg. 2.4
“A mentor is a person with a serving, giving, encouraging attitude who sees leadership potential in a younger leader and is able to promote or otherwise significantly influence that younger leader along to the realization of his/her leadership potential.” Pg. 2.6
Clinton, J. Robert and Richard W. 1991. The mentor handbook. Altadena, CA: Barnabas Publishers.
These are some notes from Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges:
“Another way to tell a self-serving from a servant leader is how they approach succession planning. Self-serving leaders who are addicted to power, recognition and who are afraid of loss of position are not likely to spend any time or effort in training their replacements.” Pg. 18
“One aspect of a job well done as a servant leader is what we do to prepare others to carry on after our season of leadership is completed. Your personal succession planning efforts will speak volumes about your motives as a leader. It is likely that anyone leading from an ego involved in the promotion and protection of self is not going to spend much time training and developing their potential successor. Just as avoiding or discouraging honest feedback on a day-to-day basis is a mark of an ego-driven leader, so is failure to develop someone to take your place.” Pg. 20
“How are you doing in preparing others to take your place when the time comes? Do you consider them a threat or an investment in the future? Are you willing to share what you know and provide opportunities to learn and grow to those who will come after you? If not, why not? These are critical matters of the heart of a servant leader. A few minutes of brutal honesty regarding your motives as a leader are worth years of self-deception.” Pg. 21
“Servant leaders, who consider their positions as being on loan and as an act of service, look beyond their own season of leadership and prepare the next generation of leaders.” Pg. 21
“Jesus modeled the true servant leader by investing most of His time training and equipping the disciples for leadership when His earthly ministry was over.” Pg. 21
Blanchard, Ken & Hodges, Phil. 2003. The servant leader: transforming your heart, head, hands, and habits. Nashville, TN: J. Countryman (a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
QUALITY THOUGHTS: Quality Leaders seek to mentor younger leaders. Quality Leaders are engaged in the future, knowing that the future health and vitality of the organization depends upon the effective training of future leaders.
Leading with Quality in Mind,
Denny Bates
Quality Leadership Consultants
Our Mission: To present Quality Ideas that will produce Quality Changes in
Quality Leaders and Organizations
No comments:
Post a Comment