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Archive for the ‘Mentoring’ Category

The Intention in Influence

Posted in Influence, Leadership, Mentoring, Serve, Seven Pillars of Faith and Work, tagged , , , , on December 21, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

We have been teaching, writing and talking about Influence this month, one of the Seven Pillars of Faith at Work. As leaders, walking (sprinting is more like it) through the end of 2011 and into a fresh new year, Influence has to be omnipresent.

I am reading Leadership is Dead: How Influence is Reviving It by Giant Impact CEO Jeremie Kubicek. Jeremie says “great leaders with true influence build relationships by serving the needs of those within their spheres of influence, even as they serve the needs of their businesses.”

It is the “even as they serve the needs of their businesses”  phrase that we should consider. There are certainly numerous opportunities for us to have influence in our personal lives. What about work? In the busy lives that we lead today, how can we be more intentional about influencing in the flow of our day at work?

Here are a few suggestions for you to consider.

  1. Encourage – take the time to share with someone what you see in them. Their gifts, their skills. It doesn’t have to be a long discussion. It can follow a meeting where you simply pull that person aside and say, “you are really good at…”
  2. Mentor – a big, sometimes scary word. That man or woman 5, 10, 20 years younger than you? Their watching. Show them the way. Maybe you can take them to lunch one day. Pour a little of what’s in your cup, in their cup.
  3. Serve - we are pro’s at hiding when we are hurting, especially at work. When you see or hear that someone in your work is going through a difficult time, there is no greater time to serve. Maybe it is an encouraging private word. Maybe it’s an email. Maybe it’s a cup of coffee. Remember those people who came along side of you in your time of need? Now you can use your experience to serve another.

Lord, slow us down enough to notice. Plant the seed in us to be intentional with the influence that you give us, especially in our work. Amen

“You’re here to be light…If I make you light-bearers…shine! By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God…” Matthew 5:14-16

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60 Days…Speak Up!

Posted in Encouragement, Friendship, Honesty, Influence, Mentoring, Prayer, Relationships on December 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Friends,

Often times I have felt at a loss for words.  A situation presents itself and it feels like I should say something, but I don’t  because I am scared that I will not say the right thing.   Good intentions and all, but the word of encouragement or the word of thankfulness does not ever make it to the intended recipient.

We constantly find ourselves in situations where we don’t exactly know what to say, so we say nothing.  I have learned however that it’s not what I say that really matters most of the time, but it’s the effort I made to say it that really counts.  I know that today, most likely before lunch, I will be have an opportunity to speak to someone who needs the encouraging word or some aspect of my thoughts or feedback on some issue going on in their work or life.  I hope I can find the right words in the moment, but if not, I hope that I will still not miss the opportunity to a let the Holy Spirit speak through me, whatever that may be and not allow the enemy to once again steal the blessing meant for this person.

Pray that the Lord will give you the courage and desire to speak a blessing to those you encounter at work today.  Don’t become so self absorbed that you don’t express the loving kindness to someone who needs it because you don’t know exactly how to express it.  Again, remember, it’s the effort you make to speak up that really counts the most.

Blessings!

Sam

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60 Days…Mentoring

Posted in Leadership, Mentoring on December 13, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

In a recent Eight to Five message by Terry Turpin, he made a statement that penetrated me. It went something like this… “if you aren’t mentoring someone AND being mentored by someone, you are not living the kind of life you could or should.” I can’t quit thinking about that.

Some of us invest significant time in mentoring others, possibly as part of our job. Likewise, some of us are mentored by others who have wisdom and experience and a heart to help. But in our seven years at WorkMatters, we have learned that very few people mentor others or receive mentoring.

What an incredible miss! Are we too busy? Afraid we don’t know how? Fear that we really don’t have anything to offer? These are fair concerns. But they pale in comparison to the incredible impact we can have when we take the time to help someone younger through life. You would be amazed how good listening skills and the Holy Spirit can create a powerful opportunity to help another person, especially in their faith and work.

As WorkMatters formally launches ENGAGE! for young professionals and Kairos for college upperclassmen, the opportunity to mentor will be enormous.

Can I suggest that you pray on this and include it in your goals for 2011. Wouldn’t it be cool if one year from today, you have played a role in helping someone fuse their faith, work and life!

6 Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. Titus 2:6-8

David

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60 Days…Are You Approachable?

Posted in Mentoring on December 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

Over the course of my life, I have been blessed to with a number of people who I would call my mentors.    Some of them were professional mentors, some were spiritual mentors and a select few were both.  I can’t tell you the value these people have added to my life and how they have encouraged me.  A side benefit, if you will, of having mentors is the deep and trusting friendships that developed and have endured over the years.

In almost every instance, I connected with these people at work.  They were people I looked up to and who I found to be easy to approach.  The “approachability” factor was crucial.  These were very busy and highly important people in the organization.  Now, I did not go up and ask them to mentor me, but they made me feel comfortable and put me at ease, inviting me to ask them whatever I wanted. When I did, they responded never made me feel like I was a bother.  The mentoring aspect seemed to develop out of building a real relationship with these people who were never too busy to talk.

As we continue to develop our ENGAGE! ministry for Young Professionals, one of the things we continue to hear is that they are so hungry for these types of mentoring relationships.  You may think you have nothing much to offer, but believe me, your life and business experience is a deep well of knowledge.  Please continue to pray for our ENGAGE! ministry and also how you could play the role of a mentor in the life of someone coming up behind you.

Blessings!

Sam

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