BY: PRINCE NEWMAN
How does it sound when you are to word out the values you gained from the relationship you had with a Person from the Past who seemed to have gifted you Time to share his insights everyday?
Your memories may not reminisce the detailed lessons you got. However few streaks of the magnificent influence that special person had on you would still be printed at a fresh rear view.
I spent a partial time of 3 years for my high school education. Half of the moments was inspired by a school mate, who became my Personal Mentor at the early latter. Its been near to a year now since I left highschool. Yet I am no where close to getting enough of his highly enormous teachings that added so much worth to my growth!
Aftermath the time and experience with him from school, we still connect. The lessons keep springing up.
And anytime I set myself an ample to evaluate the experience, I get to understand that Mentors are not gained accidentally. Its not the kind of thing that you impulsively encounter out of a first time impression. Mentors are not ideals that have been freely deposited to the marketplace that everyone can choose to go get anytime when needs be.
Mentors are treasures. They are valuable “minerals” that require delicate digging to discover. It means if you need a mentor, you must get digging; it requires a deliberate intentional search. Mentors are not bounty stones you can choose to take in just a seconds stretch, but treasures only discovered by insistent dig-searching. This makes them such special of a kind.
I met my will-be High school mentor–Eugene Tutu Ansu from a distance and for about 3 consecutive academic terms I happened to be his secret admirer unknowingly. Till we got to meet in person, and kept connection preserved I then discovered him as an ideal Mentor. 4 Valuable things I got to learn from him that’s had timeless clots to the mark are just undaunting.
1. The art of Leading From Behind
To say my robust thirst for occupying leadership positions was a max is an understatement. To my context, the leadership philosophy I carried was that a person’s power and sophisticated advantage over his fellow man is measured by the height and quantity of leadership positions occupied. Exclusively false right? But at the time, I would file factual proofs to you that gave a positive nod to my point.
As I got to know my High School mentor close too well, i could measure up such immense influence he’s had on his fellow peeps with just a position he occupied. Taking the difference from a senior colleague who held more than 3 on-campus positions with a minimum influence to write home about.
Getting to know this, projected to me that to lead isn’t measured by quantity of roles but how to simply guide your team with even a single role to a specified destination by leading from behind. In servant leadership, every successful leader guides a sheepfold from behind, through a path and not to command followers from leading upfront.The Positional Leader says “lead from upfront”. The servant-leader says “lead from behind! “
2. The intuition to trade-off “must-have” interests for “ought-to-do” Passion
I can recall the struggle I faced with choices. Decisions that effected negatively in the long run, and still others that had no significant values to give. As I noted earlier that I loved piling up positions to my bow, making effective simplified choices was a hard thing for me to do.
In one memorable academic term set for aspiring students to vie for school and club positions, I had filed for almost 5 positions. At the night before I prearranged delivering my vying slips, I decided to get his consent on my venture. I can recall he said that “Do you really need all these?” I got no answer to quick-fix the rhetoric inquiry. He further explained that knowing that which I ought-to-have is way a miles variety from what I want-to-have. Just a single choice can go past limits to cause you havoc. further expressing that one can still have just one necessary choice yet work out great success.
Bill Gates traded off all other important alternates to go for the necessary single Microsoft venture. Can you imagine such a huge success this made him? Realizing the red line between must-have interest for ought-to-have Passion is a decisive Immutable principle to consider.
3. The mandate to influence Humanity with what You have
Its all about the mandate of giving back to society what you have accumulated all while. I learnt from him the influence commission that demands me to compassionately reflect acquired values on the needs of all Men.
From the example he set for others to thread, by willingly teaching others necessary principles he has learnt and applied, as well as investing resources like books and other sophisticated resources into his followers’ well-being and personal growth made a practical description of giving back as a gift to humanity, that which every individual has freely been endowed with. Dr. Randy Osae Bediako of Kharis Media llc has a personal philosophy that goes “Impact Or Die! “. Great Leaders are people who influence other Potential leaders to influence others.
4. The Principle Of Stretching
In one of our hangout, I asked him how he was able to keep current on what he always teaches. He exclaimed that its all about learning, and investing consistency into it. If you want to be a leader, you must keep learning.
This is so true and without doubt very realistic. You cannot give what you don’t have. To give something to someone, you must first have a possession. Every wanna-be successful person must set simplified learning strategies to meet. This defines the ‘Principle of stretching’. On this principle it explains that before a person receives something from someone, that person must stretch out hand closing up space to the gift inorder to hold a grab.
It therefore means that before you can receive knowledge as a learning strategy, you must stretch. Every Effective person must keep learning with consistency to curb dying out of ignorance and dryness of apprehension. This is the Principle of Stretching!
Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo says “If I hadn’t had mentors, I wouldn’t be here today. I’m a product of great mentoring, great. coaching… Coaches or mentors are very important. They could be anyone–your husband, other family members, or your boss.”