Today is National Mentoring Day. Who is business mentoring you? and… who mentors the mentors?
Business mentoring has played an important role in business history. Today is a time to celebrate all the mentors, coaches and influencers in our lives that have helped us get to where we want to be. Just like any good athlete that has won a gold medal, behind the scenes is a great mentor that has got them in top shape so that they are ready to take on the world!
“National Mentoring day was launched to celebrate mentoring with a key focus on recognising excellence and raising awareness on the significant benefits of mentoring to encourage more people to get involved in mentoring”—referenced from nationalmentoringday.org.
A mentor or coach plays a critical part in the lives of people that: know there is more out there for them; think big about who they are and what is possible; and those that pursue greatness.
Mentors share their experience and life learning’s so that others can achieve faster and stronger results. Mentors have dedicated their life’s purpose to helping others, day in day out, reach their full potential!
The above picture is of Michael Jordan and his mentor Dean Smith that sadly passed away in 2015. When Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, he said, “There’s no way you guys would have got a chance to see Michael Jordan play without Dean Smith.”
Who Mentors the Mentor
I would be a bit of a hypocrite if I was to talk about business coaching and mentoring and not talk about my mentors. I have three mentors: Brad Sugars, the founder of ActionCOACH; Dr Marshall Goldsmith, the world’s number 1 executive coach—that mentors directors at companies such as Ford; and finally my coach James, who has coached Olympians and consistently pushes me in my game. Without their accountability, coaching, and pushing me to think bigger, I would not be able to coach at the high level I do today. They keep me moving forward, and as a result, my clients move forward to new heights too.
Thank you coaches for getting me to where I want to be and beyond what I thought possible.
Similarly, with my clients. After being coached, they also become better leaders in their business too. They become the mentors for their teams and pass on their coaching skills. The end result is the managers become mentors to the staff too, thus creating an organisation that is focused on building others for increased business performance and company success. Powerful stuff for any business!
Tips for Choosing a Mentor or Coach
So who would you consider as a mentor?
If you don’t have someone you consult with for mentoring or coaching at least once a month, one-on-one, then consider this. If gold medal athletes, top footballers, film stars, and top business CEOs in the world invest in multiple mentors, wouldn’t you say they were doing something right?
These top players in any field—even though at the top—still continue to invest in mentors because there is always more to learn and they need to be kept on their toes.
The definition of coach comes from the transport vehicle. The origins mean a vehicle to transport from what place to another. Similarly, the coaching process also takes someone from one place to another.
If you want to take your business from one place to another, then be open to exploring coaching options with a coach that suits your goals best. Read more about coaching programmes at https://goodtogreat.actioncoach.co.uk/programmes/
