8/9/2019 The Value of Mentors
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They shy away because of self-doubts.Or, doing the right thing
means hardwork, and they are afraid that theycan't do it. So they m
ake com promises.Another self-imposed obstaclecomes from the
pressure to succeed.This pressure can pu ll us away fromour core
values, just as we are rein-forced by our "success" in the
market.Some peop le refer to this as "CEO-itis." Ironically th e m
ore successful weare, the more tempted we are to takeshortcuts. And
the rewards-compensa-tion increases, stock option gains, themyriads
of executive perks, positivestories in the media, adm iring
com-ments from our peers-all reinforce ouractions and drive us to
keep it going.
Great leaders dissolve m any of theimpediments that stand in
their waythrough regular, ruthless self-scrutiny.Their built-in
moral compass vigilantlyand constantly evaluates their motivesand
monitors for right and wrong.Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella, aleader
with character, said: "When youachieve good results, you are
typicallycelebrated. You are idealized by theoutside world, and you
tend tobelievethat wha t is written is true."One common impedim ent
to mak-ing wise judgme nts is isolation, andone pernicious form of
isolation resultsfrom the almost palpab le intoxicationof success.
Many celebrated and giftedleaders constantly struggle to find
abalance between their constant hu ngerfor success and the other
attributes of ameaningful life. The courage of wiseleaders is
close-knit w ith their charac-ter. While good character w
ithoutcourage can be worthless, couragewithout good character can
be, andoften is, dangerou s. Hence, we are notinterested in leaders
who cross the lineby compromising on values of integrityand
decency. We are only interested inleaders whose character and
courageare exhibited when no one is looking.You can't lead if you
don't have taist,and you can't have trust if you don'thave
integrity. Leaders with character
are easier to trust and follow; theyhonor com mitments and
promises; theirwords and behavior match; they areopen to reflective
backtalk; they admiterrors and learn from their mistakes;they speak
with conviction because theybelieve in what they're saying; and
theyare open to opportuiiity and risk. LENoel M.Tichy ItichySihu
s.umkli.edii) is professor of maiiagenwiiland director of Global
Business P artnership, Univ. of Michigan''^Ross School of Business.
Warren C. Bennis Iw.g.hennh'^gmaiLcom)is a distinguisijed professor
at theUSC's Ma rshall School ofBusiness. They are coauthors o / J u
d g m a i t (Portfolio).ACTION: Cultivate your wisdom and
judgtnent.
LEADERSHIP MENTORS
Value of MentorsBe open to their influence.
by Brian TracyHEN YOU B UY WI S -dom, you pa y fullprice in time
andmoney to learn the lessons. When bor-rowing wisdom , you go to
those menand women who have already paidthe price to leam the
lessons. By goingto people who are ahead of you andopening yourself
to their input andguidance, you save yourself the yearsit would
take and the thousand s ofdollars itwould cost you to learn whatyou
need to learn by yourself. This isthe essence of mentoring
relationships.The fastest way to get ahead is tostudy the experts
and to do wh at theydo . You won't live long enough tolearn all you
need to learn startingfrom scratch. To succeed, you need tofind p
eople wh o have already paid theprice to help you learn thethings
that you need toleam to achieve your goals.The mentors you
chooseshould be people yourespect, admire, and wantto be like. The
advice youseek should be guidanceregarding you r characterand
personality and specif-ic ideas on how you can doyour job better
and fasterIn a m entor, look for two vital quali-ties: character
and competence.Character is by far the most impor-tant. Look for a
mentor who has thekind of character you adm ire andrespecta person
wh o has highdegrees of intelligence, integrity, judg-ment and
wisdom. The more you asso-ciate with men and women who areadvanced
in the development of their
character, the more you will tend topattern them and to become
like them.Competence means the person is verygood at what he or she
doesthey havethe knowledge, skills, and abilities tohelp you move
ahead more rapidly.The impact of a mentor on your lifedepe nds on
two additional factors.The first is you r degree of opennessto
being influenced. When you openyourself up to guidance,
concentratefirst on learning what the person hasto teach you and
then modify that les-son to suit your circumstances.
The second factor that determinesthe influence of a mentor is
the will-ingness of the mentor to help you toachieve your goals.
The more emotion-ally involved someone is in you r life,the more
susceptible you are to beinginfluenced by that pe rson. When
youseek out a mentor, you must look forsomeone who genuinely cares
aboutyou as a person and who really wantsyou to be successful in
your endeavors.So, you must be w ide open to theinfluence and
instruction, and thementor m ust be genuinely concernedabout your
well-being and success.Here are W steps for building suc-cessful
mentor-protege relationships:1. Set clear goals for yourself.
Knowwhat you wan t to accomplish beforethinking of who can help
you.2. Determine what you need to doto overcome the obstacles you
face andachieve your goals.3. Identify the knowledge, skill,
andexpertise you need to overcome theobstacles between you and your
goals.4. Seek the most successful people inareas where you need the
m ost help.5. Join the clubs, organizations, andassociations these
people belong to,become involved, and vol-unteer for
responsibilitiesto get their attention.6. Work, study, andpractice
to get better atwhat you do. The bestmentors are interested
inhelping you only if theyfeel it is worth their time.7. When you
find a men-tor, don't make a nuisanceof yourself or waste
theirtime. Ask for 10 minutes of their time.8. When you meet with a
mentor,express your eagerness to succeed inyour field and seek
specific guidanceto help you move ahead.9. After the initial
meeting, send athank-you note expressing your grati-tude for his or
her time and guidance.Mention that you hope to meet again.10. Each
month, dro p your mentor a
short note, telling him or her aboutwhat you are doing and how
you areprogressing. State wh at their help h asdone for you.
Arrange to meet withyour mentor again, perhaps monthly.As you
develop, seek different men-tors who can give you the he lp most
rele-vant to your sitviation. The more you helpothers, the more o
thers will help you. LE
Brian Tracy is a leadership and sales consultant and the
authorof 42 hooks, iududiiig r t e Way To Ufealtk Vi'si'l
aiww.bri-anfraq/.c^t' or call 858-48'}~2977.
ACTION: Start anewvicntorinf; relationship.
