Helpful Tips on Mentoring - Day 20: 100 Days of Leadership

Leaders have mentors. They need them. The mentors encourage them, challenge them and reveal to them things about themselves they didn’t even know.

Banking businessman David Gonski gives some helpful tips on mentoring. He says:

1.    You’re never too old to learn new tricks (so have a mentor)

2.    Do not pick your boss as a mentor

3.    Have more than one mentor (e.g. a leadership coach, a social media expert, a finance mentor, a personal coach, etc).

4.    Mentors share knowledge that you would not have gained but through the mentoring relationship (Adapted from Australian Financial Review, 13/2/15, page 3).

Let’s stop and look at a definition of mentoring. ‘Mentoring is to support and encourage people to manage their own learning in order that they may maximise their potential, develop their skills, improve their performance and become the person they want to be.’ Eric Parsloe, author of Coaching and Mentoring.

If you’ve been on the leadership journey for a while, then who are you mentoring? How effectively are you supporting and encouraging, within the mentoring relationship, to help bring about the best success for the one you mentor? Take a leaf out of the Apostle’s Paul’s book. He mentored Timothy and allowed his life and ministry be an example to him.

I thank God for the different mentors I have had over the years. One mentor could challenge me lovingly about my health. One mentor would give me tips on how to preach. Another mentor would pat me on the back and assure me, that it’ll all work out in the end. Leaders need mentors.

What does the Bible say?

2 Timothy 1: 13-14 - What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

What will I do now?

Maybe for you, it is time to explore a mentoring relationship with someone; be it a leadership coach, a personal coach or a mentor in a specific field of expertise. Maybe for you, it is actually time to start mentoring someone. Have you learnt some lessons along the way? What if it is time to support and encourage someone in mentoring?

Teaching Unteachable People: Teaching to Teach You if you are Teachable

"Teaching Unteachable People - Teaching to Teach You if you are Teachable" Whew!

Teaching the unteachable. What a leadership conundrum! First of all let's get one thing clear...

I need to be FAT... and no I don't mean more carbohydrates in my diet and an increase in my ice-cream intake. I must be:

Faithful, Available and Teachable.

While I may strive for this, and others may emulate these three characteristics, the leadership dilemma is clearly evident when someone is faithful, available and unteachable.

Right now you're thinking of Joe Blogs and saying, 'Yeah, what DO you do when someone is unteachable?!' You know the person. Maybe its stubbornness, the desire to be in control, pride that tells the person they know what is best or longevity in a position that causes them to choose to become unteachable. Maybe you identify someone in your circles of influence?

The quick fire leadership answer may well be, to realise that you are only capable of changing your own attitudes, discovering new truths and implementing them in your life, and that you are completely incapable of doing that for someone else. We may then move on to another leadership topic, and forget about considering teaching the unteachable.

I want to highlight though some points from a letter in the Bible, that Paul writes in order to mentor a younger guy named Timothy. Now, whether you are in to the God stuff or not, stick with me here, because Paul highlights some helpful leadership tips in teaching the unteachable.

Paul teaches Timothy the following:

• When teaching others avoid arguments, because they produce quarrels.  
• '....Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do you best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus...' 2 Timothy 2:14-17.
• Do not avoid teaching - Paul does not tell Timothy to forget about teaching Mrs. Start-a-fire and Mr. Quarrelsome.
• Ensure you remain kind to everyone - As hard as that may be, do not let your character dissipate because someone else is argumentative or unteachable.
• Ensure you are not resentful and thus remain able to teach with authenticity and integrity.
• 'Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct...' 2 Timothy 2:23-25
• When teaching be ready to patiently and carefully challenge and correct as needed. - When you have mastered this, please let me know because I'd love to master this as well! Patience is a virtue...
• 'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness...' 2 Timothy 3:16.
• 'Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction' 2 Timothy 4:2.
• Understand that investing time in reliable, teachable people may be a more beneficial use of your time (not that you stop teaching others!)
• 'And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others' 2 Timothy 2:2

This remains a leadership dilemma for many of us; that is, lifting our capacity to teach effectively and witnessing the transformation that the teaching causes.

Whether you are like me, and teach people about the life, death and resurrection of that revolutionary one they call Jesus Christ of Nazareth, or whether you are a leadership guru, school teacher, sports coach, Bible study leader or just all round nice guy... learning to teach effectively and learning to inspire those who are seemingly unteachable is a great leadership challenge. It was a challenge back in the time of Paul and Timothy (1st Century) and it sure is a challenge today.

I must go. I have a plate of Ice-cream and a bunch of carbohydrates to consume. I must get FAT (faithful, available, teachable!)

God bless.

Also have a look at the TOP 100 Leadership Tips here.

"Teaching Unteachable People - Teaching to Teach You if you are Teachable" is written by Pete Brookshaw and partly the Apostle Paul!