Wise Leaders have Wise Counselors

 

I have made this point previously... mentoring matters.  Regardless of who you are, of how good you are, of what position you hold, of how successful you are, and of how many people you mentor yourself, YOU need a mentor.  If we subscribe to the concept that all leaders need to develop, regardless of what stage they are at in their career, then mentoring is a critical component of that development.  A couple of days ago I discussed leader self-development.  We discussed the need to read, listen, associate, and network.  Add mentoring that list.

There are countless examples highly successful people who have been mentored by others.  I previously shared that Rick Warren was mentored by Peter Drucker until Drucker's death in 2005.  Additionally, well known mentor/mentee relationships include Oprah Winfrey being mentored by Maya Angelou, Mark Zuckerberg being mentored by Steve Jobs, Bill Gates being mentored by Warren Buffett, Warren Buffett being mentored by Benjamin Graham, John Lewis being mentored by Martin Luther King, Jr., Henry Ford being mentored by Thomas Edison, Plato being mentored by Socrates, Aristotle being mentored by Plato, Alexander the Great being mentored by Aristotle, J.J. Abrams being mentored by Stephen Spielberg, and the list goes on.  Mentoring can also occur through the written word.  Nelson Mandela considered Mohandas Gandhi his mentor although the two never met.

Why is having a mentor (or mentors) so important?  I'm glad you asked!  I would offer that is all comes down to perspective... someone else's perspective of you, your situation, your actions, goals and dreams, and your leadership capacity and ability.  Do not confuse mentoring with extreme criticism.  Effective mentoring is a positive experience that benefits both parties!  An effective mentor will cause you to be reflective and to contemplate perspectives and viewpoints that you may not have otherwise considered.

For mentoring to be effective, there must be a match; that is, a mutual respect and an agreed upon covenant, whether it is formal or informal.  The mentee must implicitly agree to allow the mentor to speak truth into the relationship.  Without that mutual trust, it is doubtful that the relationship will ever rise above that of an advising session.  When people give me advise, I may take it of leave it: when my mentors offer their perspective, I take it to heart and thoroughly process what they have presented to me.  That is powerful and is needed by any leader that wants to take their game to the next level.

Effective mentoring is critical to the success of any leader.  Without it the leader is most likely not going to progress much past where they are currently; with it there is not limit to the heights that the leader can reach.  By doing so, they put themselves into a position to positively affect countless others, and that is what leadership is all about!