Tag Archives: ryan russell

Want to be mentored? -part 1

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In search of self improvement or a desire to move forward professionally, young people land on the idea that they need a mentor. However, wanting a mentor or teacher is a whole lot easier than the process of being mentored. Here are a few quick things to consider on the subject:

[part. 1]

Go look for one – It sounds too absurd, but it is all too true that most people want a mentor to come looking for them. ANY individual that you would want to have as a mentor is not just sitting around bored. They have things going on and lots of people who want their time — that is in fact the reason that you want them! They know something that you don’t about your job, about life or about how to lead their families. If you want some of their time, go ask for it. Don’t sit in your office crying about the fact that no one will invest in you. No one will invest in you because you haven’t asked them to.

Make it a priority, not a leftover - Since this is more than likely something you are doing outside of the scope of your paying job, there might be a tendency to treat this like a personal friendship or a hobby — don’t do that. Treat this like a meeting with your boss who’s opinions should have significant impact on your reality. For starters, SHOW UP ON TIME OR EARLY! If you are unavoidably running behind, at least call. Next, get the appt. on your calendar as a ‘can’t miss’ item; do not treat it as something that you will wipe out if some other meetings come up. Holy crap, this is your personal & professional development we are talking about, don’t let that become a third tier item. Also, bring at least one discussion item to the table each time for them to weigh in on. Don’t expect your mentor to lead every conversation; bounce stuff off of them that is important to your situation.

Don’t Kill ‘MO’

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Objects in motion stay in motion unless met with force or resistance. (A rough paraphrase of Newton’s 1st Law of Motion) This law of motion applies to bike riding, rv pulling, building teams, organizational progress and to leadership.

Momentum is a critical ally in leadership. Building ‘MO’mentum takes hard work, well developed strategies, diligent oversight, lots of cheering, clarification of mission and goals, and the celebration of victories. Quite possibly it will take many cycles of these to attain it. You will know that you have MO when as some would say “you feel things begin to click”. Victories come easier and more often. Goals and objectives are being reached and when your mission is being achieved (in part or whole) right in front of your eyes.

When you have MO you will invariably come to a juncture where you and other leaders will face some tough decisions about the continuation of things from the past and opportunities that are presenting themselves for the future. With each of these decisions, you must ask this important question:

“Will this kill our MO?”

Sometimes the killer of MO will be resistance to growth. Or it could be resistance to change. Or it could be the desire to go faster (throttle down) than your group can keep up with. Or….

I think you get the idea. It could be a lot of things, but know this, once momentum is lost, it is a hard slog back up the hill to where it can be recaptured again.

‘Dip’ read

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the dip

Pick it up & read it: “The Dip” by Seth Godin

This is not a new read, but it is a timely read IF you are wondering whether you should push through during a difficult time in leadership OR cut your losses and move on. Inspirational, motivational, and very helpful. BONUS = it should only take you about 30 minutes to read.

(yes craig, I will get your stolen copy back to you.)

Permission to say it

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If you really want to grow in your leadership then you are going to have to hear what most people aren’t willing to tell you. You need to hear items that will frustrate you, challenge you, encourage you and make you better than you are today. The biggest obstacle to this will be finding someone who will tell you like it really it.

98% of the people you know don’t have the courage to tell you the honest picture.
- 40% will tell you that you are doing awesome.
- 50% will be totally indifferent and lost in their own little worlds.
- 8% will make you out to be such a loser that you will wonder why you are bothering the rest of us by consuming our finite oxygen.

You need to be searching hard for that honest 2% person who can give you clear, real, valuable, usable feedback. When you find them and they give you their time, be sure to work hard at learning from what they have to say… it will make you better.

Teach in failure

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Young leaders need feedback. They won’t make all of the right moves and they won’t have all of the experience that you wish they would have to inform their decision making in tough situations. They also don’t have the requisite vision to see what is coming next. That is what makes them young leaders. When (not if) they fail, you can ignore the problem, which ultimately leads to no growth due to your lack of involvement. Or, you can address the failure. It is in these moments where you can lead them towards success by coming alongside them as a coach, giving insights and guidance that will equip them for their next opportunities. I believe that this beats out the alternative, which is chewing them out like a military drill sergeant. So, here are some suggestions:

  • tackle the performance issue while it is still fresh, don’t put it off till later (coach in the moment)
  • invite the young leader into the solution process
  • don’t skirt the issues with subtleties, be direct
  • give tangible examples of how performance can be improved
  • don’t over react… the world isn’t coming to an end because they made a mistake, so put them back in the game right away
  • give encouragement about the future whenever possible

Don’t hire employees

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I don’t like ‘employees’. The term has become synonymous with lazy, entitled, arrogant, bossy, arrived, filling in the time, doing the minimum, and getting by. I know a few exceptions, but they seem to be just that. Consider some other options the next time you are getting ready to spend money on people as a solution to your challenges…

‘Intern’ – Short term, on the team to learn and hopefully you will get an equal return on output for the time you invest in their development. Either pay them well or have them raise their own salary because your organization is just that awesome. Be sure to limit the experience between 90-180 days. Keep them if their great and always be hiring new ones… this is the place to find your best talent.

‘Contract Labor’ – 1 yr. contracts or part-time employees who can be taken off the books within 30 days. This position gives you the flexibility and the latitude to look for the very best people to have on your team. Now more than ever there are plenty of options. Why be in a long term relationship when you just aren’t sure? Even if it costs you more monthly, you can save yourself by not having health benefits, retirement and a whole host of other administrative chores, expenses and commitments if you work the deal well. A termed contract will keep the person on their toes to continually deliver their best.

‘Leader’ - This person is worth a salary and a commitment. They have demonstrated the value in one of the other 2 positions (ideally both) and you don’t want to see this person get snatched up by someone else for a lack encouragement, compensation or commitment on your part. Leaders move you ahead, they don’t just maintain systems. They solve problems, develop strategies, define and achieve wins.

‘Partner’ – A rare breed, this person is ready to sacrifice and they love the mission almost as much as you do. Partners demonstrate an ‘all-in’ mentatlity. Beyond the attributes of a leader, they have chemistry in team dynamics and make the place better by being a part of it. Not all partners have to be seen as indispensable, but certainly they bring unique contributions to the table, are highly committed and are trustworthy.

no one likes practice

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Try – Accept Critical Feedback – Learn – Try Again

The real world is not like the classroom. Book knowledge does not translate into application and success. If you really want to get better at your leadership, your vocation of choice, your skill sets then you are going to have to submit to practice. Don’t just sit your butt in a classroom, at a coffee shop with a book or be holed up at your apartment with your computer thinking that you are going to get better at what you do. You have to get out there and try it.

And when you do ‘try it’, don’t listen to your best friends, girlfriend, your disgruntled-going-nowhere-coworkers or your mom about whether you are on a good growth path. Ask honest people. Ask people who will tell you what you really need to hear. Ask people who don’t care about your feelings over your development but ask ones who will actually tell you the painful truths you need to hear in order to get better. Learn from what they have to say. Figure out how to apply it then go out and practice some more.

CRITICAL – don’t ever take a job or an internship where you don’t get to practice in some form the thing that you really want to be excellent at.

be genuinely friendly… it isn’t that hard.

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It’s weird and fun being on the other side of local church leadership… it is making for some helpful and new insights. Through my new experiences being an attender at local churches I have been able to identify a few basic items that make a for a healthy and successful church. Of these, probably one of the most basic and controllable aspects is friendliness.

It doesn’t matter what size the church. Big or Small, it is easy to be friendly. However, most churches fail this simple test. Leaders and regular attenders are too concerned about their needs, jobs, and preparations to stop and connect relationally with people… the very people they so desire to reach and have stay at their churches.

If you attend a church or lead a church, here is something VERY SIMPLE that you can do to help your church grow (spiritually, communally, numerically)…. Take the 15 minutes before the service starts and walk/talk through the worship center. Say ‘hi’ to people. Engage them in 3-5 min. conversations. Look for faces you don’t recognize or don’t know very well (don’t talk with your regular ‘friends’). If you could just get just 2% of your congregation to lead on this level I am confident you would experience a whole new attitude in your church within 2 months.

Chunk Planning

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Even the best planners and strategists can be overwhelmed by the entire picture, so don’t be disappointed when you are daunted by the thought of outlining the key steps to your next major goal.

Think in terms of chunks or key pieces.

  1. Open up a fresh document and type out what you believe are the key ingredients.
  2. Then, open another new document and put just 1 of those key ingredients at the top.
  3. I am a bullet point guy, so below I would start my bullets and then seek to list all of the items that must be done or met for this area to contribute to the bigger goal.
  4. Repeat step 3 for all of the areas.
  5. Get a 2nd and 3rd set of eyeballs on your initial brain dumpings… this is great because in just 60 minutes (or less) you can draw up some pretty comprehensive, logical and strategic steps towards accomplishing your big goal.

Pick you next goal and try it. It works.