Nine Reasons Why Mentoring Matters to You

There are many roles we play or hats we wear in our lives.  We are professionals, family members, brothers, sisters, co-workers, leaders, coaches, friends, parents, and neighbors to name just a few.  While you may not wear all of the hats I listed, you can likely add several more that I left out!  Many of these roles are a given – we don’t have much choice of having the role – they come with being a responsible adult.

Because of these many roles, we find ourselves very busy.  Many tasks and priorities find us perhaps busier now than we have ever been before!

With these two factors, many roles and little time, it may seem absurd to write an article that encourages taking on yet another role and adding another task to your over-booked calendar.  But that is exactly what I am going to do.  In this article I’m going to show you why, despite the competition for our time and energy, being a mentor is one of the best things you can do.

There are many reasons why being a mentor is valuable to the other person.  They get the value of your expertise, knowledge, and experience.  They get a chance to advance more rapidly and create greater success than they would have been able to without your insight and advice.  While these are altruistic reasons, they don’t say anything about how you benefit.  And while we all like to help others, sometimes we need to see what is in it for us as well.

There are benefits to you personally to spending your time and energy, sharing your expertise with others as a mentor.  In fact, there are at least nine benefits that you might derive from being a mentor.  These include:

<B>You’ll develop a close relationship with your mentee.</B>  We can never have enough close relationships.  And chances are the person you mentor will be someone you benefit from being around.  After all, they are interested in improving themselves, care about learning, and are likely excited about the possibilities in their future.  Which brings me to the second benefit…

<B>You’ll be re-energized personally.</B>   Get around someone enthusiastic, and you naturally become more enthusiastic yourself.  Some activities sap our energy while others spark it.  Being a mentor is like carrying a book of matches with you.  If you want to re-energize yourself to your own possibilities, be a mentor.

<B>You’ll increase your commitment to your own career and organization.</B>  This one applies most if you are mentoring in a business situation.  You can see how this would happen – as you get more enthused, you see new ways you can contribute.  You see how your mentee can make a difference in the organization and this new vision will increase your commitment.

<B>You’ll learn more by talking about and teaching things.</B>  It is funny how our brains work.  When we teach something or explain something to someone else, we then understand it more clearly ourselves.  As a mentor you will relive experiences, teach or share ideas.  And when you do this you will learn and re-learn these concepts for yourself.  Often you will find yourself “taking your own advice” to your great personal or professional benefit.

<B>You’ll expand your impact in your organization.</B>  Not only will your personal commitment grow, but as you help others be more successful, the organization will succeed at higher levels.  Think of the satisfaction you will get from knowing you are playing a part in making that happen.

<B>You’ll enhance your self-esteem.</B>  It just feels good to help others.  You will feel better about yourself and your abilities when you share your wealth of knowledge and experience with others.  Your self esteem will rise because you are doing good things for someone else.

<B>You’ll increase your skills.</B>  As you mentor others, you will become a better mentor.  The skills that make you a better mentor; empathy, listening, caring, building trust (to name just a few), make you more effective in many other parts of your life.  Being a mentor is actually great training in itself!

<B>You’ll grow more confident.</B>  The culmination of many of these other benefits is that your confidence will increase.  You’ll be more confident in many sorts of interpersonal relationships and conversations.  You’ll know that you can have a positive impact.  You’ll know that you can make a difference.

<B>You’ll leave a legacy.</B>  Successful athletic coaches do more than grow their teams and win lots of games.  The best also create a linage of coaches that leave their staff to become head coaches as well.  This is an important legacy that they leave – a statement of their influence and impact.  By mentoring others with care and compassion you will be adding directly to your legacy.

Take minute now to be selfish.  Think about yourself as a mentor.  Identify what you see as being in it for you.  Envision how it will feel to give back to someone else.  Then go out and become a mentor – you, along with your mentee, will be glad you did!

Nine Ways to Get Your Productivity Up

We’ll all been there.  Ballplayers call it a slump.  Some call it a lull or a funk.  These are the times when you don’t seem to have as much energy or passion for your work. You can’t seem to get as excited (or excited at all) about the tasks in front of you.  You are less productive, and you don’t feel as good about your work either.  Beyond that, the quality of your work you are getting done may be slipping as well.

This situation can be caused by many things and it can affect both individuals and teams.  Regardless of the reasons for the situation, there are specific, predictable ways to get past the funk.  When you apply these suggestions (and some of them you can apply within one minute of finishing this article) you will lift both your spirits and your productivity, and begin to give you your rhythm back.

Since there’s no reason to wait any longer, let’s get started!

<b>Get started.</b>  Action is the most important force we have.  Taking action, whatever it is, will make a big difference.  Often our energy is drained by procrastination.  Lou Holtz, the longtime football coach said, “When all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done.”  Stop talking about it or thinking about it and get started.  Do something.  Do anything.  Get started!

<b>Fake it.</b>  Dale Carnegie taught us that if we “act enthusiastic, we’ll be enthusiastic.”  This is a fundamental truth.  If you don’t immediately take action, you can begin by getting yourself excited about the task.  If you are having trouble getting excited about the task, get excited about getting over your slump.  That will motivate you and help you get going.

<b>Start small.</b>  The first actions we take don’t have to be large.  We may even feel a bit daunted by what is in front of us. In fact, the size of the project or obstacle in front of us may have been what caused the slump to start with.  The size of your actions doesn’t matter.  Take a small step right now.

<b>Think big.</b>  While you may start small, you can still think big.  Having a big vision can help motivate you and get you excited.  It can be incredibly helpful to have a big vision.

<b>Set a goal.</b>  Of course the “think big” suggestion is related to goal setting.  But you can have a big vision without truly having a goal.  Again, at this point the size of the goal is less important than having a clear endpoint that is something you really want. I didn’t make this the first suggestion, though you could argue it should be.  Why didn’t I?  Because sometimes people procrastinate in setting a goal!  You need this step, and if you can get that clear focus at the start, all the better.

<b>Get some help.</b>  Sometimes a task is easier if you have someone to work with.  Get a co-worker to share the load on your project, and offer to help them in return.  Ask a neighbor for a hand.  Their helping hand or their camaraderie may be what stimulates you, or maybe it is the accountability that comes from another person saying, “I’m ready, where do we start?”

<b>Get some advice.</b>  Talk to someone who knows about your project or task.  Ask for the benefit of their experience.  Get their ideas about how to proceed.  Their advice will be helpful, and you will likely feel some support for your actions.

<b>Have a daily plan.</b>  Do a little bit more each day.  A big effort today is great, but if it isn’t followed up tomorrow you might find yourself right back where you started emotionally and psychologically.  Have a daily plan and work that plan.  Consistently work on the task or project and you will find your energy and enthusiasm growing.  Soon your slump will be a distant memory.

<b>Set a reward.</b>  Maybe you will reward yourself with your favorite dinner, or a night out, or a new CD.  Pick something commiserate with your task and something that is motivating to you (or your team).  It won’t be long until you will be enjoying the rewards you set for yourself.

Johnny Cash wrote and sang a song called “Get Rhythm,” and the last chorus goes  . . .

Get rhythm when you get the blues
Hey, get rhythm when you get the blues
Get a rock 'n' roll feelin' in your bones
Get taps on your toes and get gone
Get rhythm when you get the blues

All of these suggestions come back to that musical advice.  When we get into a rhythm, we get out of our lull and into greater joy… and productivity.

Go ahead, get rhythm today!

Non-Profit Strategic Planning

It is important to mention that it is the size of the organization matters more than for-profit or non-profit status in determining the objectives, steps and activities in the Strategic Planning process. Small non-profit and for-profit organizations have a similar manner of conducting business and planning activities that are different from larger non-profit and for-profit organizations.

However, there are certain characteristic distinctions between non-profit and for-profit organizations in relation to focus of the planning activities. Unlike for-profits, which tend to focus primarily on profit-maximizing activities, the non-profit organizations generally are more focused on matters of board development, fundraising and volunteer management. Hence, Non-Profit Strategic Planning concerns keeping in mind the interests of the board, its development and the well-being of its units. It is also aimed at laying stress on raising funds, while the other aspects of planning take a backseat.

New non-profit organizations need to take down strategic plans on paper and create a formal plan, including all the number of considerations a starter non-profit organization needs to take care of.

In case of old or pre-existing non-profit organizations, Strategic Planning requires preparing a long-term map delineating the sequence of activities over several years, from where one is today to where one aims to be in the future. Usually, a period of 3 to 5 years is covered by a strategic plan. The following are to be presented in the plan:

•Mission statement of organization, stating the reason for its inception and activities.

•Vision statement throwing light on what the organization is hoping to become.

•Values to be adhered to by the organization in the conduct of its activities.

•Assessment and description of the needs to be fulfilled by the non-profit organization.

•The organization’s immediate goals.

•An assessment of the organization’s present status.

•Strategies adopted to meet the goals and objectives.

Not Another Ice-Breaker! Team Building with a Purpose

We just don’t work as a team!” Janet, a group manager for a large insurance company, was complaining to Larry, her human resources consultant. “Everyone just seems to do their own thing, they don’t share information, don’t try to help each other, and don’t seem to care about anyone else’s problems. What we need is a team building offsite!” Janet and Larry decided to put together a two-day offsite for the team at a resort about two hours away from work. Janet wanted immediate focus on the problem so Larry worked double-time to put together the event to be held later in the month. Larry put together an agenda full of trust-building exercises, ice-breakers, and brainstorming sessions on how the team could work better together.

On the first day of the offsite only about half of Janet’s team had shown up; the other half were working on a hot project that needed to be completed later in the week. The remaining team members politely participated in the team building exercises, but didn’t seem very interested in the activities as they felt too “squishy.” Because Janet wanted to focus the offsite on team building, there was no clearly stated business purpose for the event. The brainstorming sessions were good, but no tangible actions were taken down for the team to follow up on. In short, the offsite was met with a resounding thud from the team and was a dismal failure.

To some, this may be a gross exaggeration; but to others, this closely resembles an offsite they attended or were responsible for planning. Offsites are a very effective means to getting the team focused on solving a business problem, defining a strategy, or creating a revolutionary way of doing things. A very key by-product of offsites, though, is the team-building that occurs while addressing business issue at hand. Done well, an offsite not only puts great minds together to address a business issue but it also builds better teams that work more effectively together and get more things done. Done poorly, an offsite will be viewed as a huge waste of time and will poorly reflect on you as a leader.

How can you ensure your offsites are successful at building teams and getting things done at the same time? Consider the following simple tips:

Have a clear purpose for the offsite – Define some clear business reason for having the offsite. Consider things such as developing strategic goals for the upcoming fiscal year, account planning for strategic customers, or generating solution alternatives for a key business problem. If you make the goal of the offsite “Team Building” then your team is likely to look at the offsite as a waste of time that will have no real business benefit. Do your team building under the guise of solving a problem or defining the future.

Balance work with play – All work and the offsite becomes too fatiguing. All play and it becomes a boondoggle. Balance your agenda with a combination of work sessions with some fun team-building events sprinkled in. Make sure the “play” events you define are something everyone can participate in and go beyond the overused catch-me-as-I-fall-backwards event. Better still, ask the team what types of things they’d like to do during playtime.

Provide plenty of time for networking – Give ample time during the day and evening for the team to have snacks, enjoy beverages, and just talk about whatever strikes them. Team building starts with building relationships, and building relationships starts with getting to know each other. Allow for networking time to be free and unscripted and let the team enjoy some casual conversation with each other.

Don’t hold the offsite during a crunch period – When you do hold your offsite, you don’t want your team members to be checking email every five minutes or constantly leaving to make important calls. Do your best to hold an offsite during a “slow” time in your business. As with most businesses, there will probably never be an optimal time to hold an offsite but do your best to avoid times when team members are already burning the midnight oil.

Make it an overnight event – Some of the best offsites I’ve held were those where the team ate dinner together, enjoyed a couple of drinks, and stayed up late discussing major business problems or brainstorming on a radically new strategy. These late night sessions were valuable in that team members put their heads together to address some problem or opportunity. More importantly, team members built relationships which provided an outstanding foundation for strong teams.

Don’t make the team work overtime to “make up” the time spent at the offsite – If you’re going to have an offsite, allow the team to move some of their other commitments out a few days so they don’t feel the pressure of needing to get their work done while at the offsite. The last thing you want is your team thinking about working late because of wasted time at a dumb offsite. Relax some of the deliverables and let the team focus on the offsite, not on what work isn’t getting done.

Put together a follow-up plan to continue the work from the offsite – One of the most frustrating things I’ve experienced with offsites was the lack of a follow-up plan to implement some of the great ideas which came out of the offsite. Put together an actionable follow-up plan with tasks, dates, and owners and you’ll keep the excitement going out of the offsite and will get some of the great ideas implemented. Neglect putting together a follow-up plan and you’ll have an offsite that the team sees as a waste of time.

Offsites can be a very effective means of getting things done and building outstanding teams at the same time. Just make sure to follow these simple steps and you’ll better ensure your next offsite is a huge success.