As mentioned in our Post of November 30, 2014, my friend Dan Gaynor kindly allowed me to share some of his insights, and I'm pleased to do so in this Post. Thank you Dan for making this available to our circle of contacts!
Dan Gaynor, is the President of Gaynor Consulting Inc. The following excerpt is from his book, “The Heart And Hands Of Leadership: The Twelve Timeless Practices Of Effective Leaders”.
A link is provided below for more information regarding his book, as well as another link to a video available on my YouTube Channel, where Dan provides some additional insights on the topic of Mentorship.
We trust you'll enjoy Dan's comments that touch on themes of coaching, leadership and mentorship.
Coach for Skills and Relationships
In an earlier post on this BLOG, Dan Gaynor said: Leaders who coach are the very leaders we describe as mentors. A mentor is someone who takes an interest in you and wants to pass on what he has learned. The good mentors want to see you succeed. They are delighted when you do and to have played a role in your success. And while “mentor” can be an overused and often meaningless title, genuine mentoring is powerful. Mentors care about the people they lead. It’s personal. The office does not have to be so different from the arena. All the same benefits - improved performance and more satisfying relationships - can be realized at work when leaders take the time to pass on what they have learned to others.
The next time figure skating is on television take a few minutes to watch. Focus on the relationship between coaches and athletes. Watch them at the boards during warm-up or as the scores are being released. For a closer look, visit your local rink. You will be surprised how much there is to learn when you know what to look for.
Skating intensifies coaching because it is such a technically demanding sport. Even the smallest error can spell disaster. My amateur sport years included hockey and lacrosse. I had a few good coaches, and one who was exceptional, but most were good volunteers who got us to the ice on time. They were organizers but didn’t really know how to develop our talents or our understanding of the game. They were like many of the leaders I see today.
Over the years, I watched several skating coaches guide young skaters from their first tentative steps onto a hard and slippery surface to executing difficult jumps and spins with confidence and grace. Sure, the best athletes had some talent (and this is true at work as well), but virtually all learned new skills, provided they stayed at it long enough. Today, as a ski coach, I see the same things in the young athletes I work with, and I get as much or more from the relationships as they do. There is something really satisfying about helping someone else develop new skills and confidence.
Coaching satisfies another important condition of leadership—fairness. When leaders assign work and don’t coach they are rightly seen as unfair. Without coaching we usually get more of the same thing harder and faster. There is little, if any, lasting improvement. Leaders who make demands and don’t coach often incite fear or frustration.Coaching skills were a top priority at each newspaper I led. It’s not difficult to assign work and measure it. Many capable managers do this month after month. But coaching demands more of the leader. It is a key distinction between management and leadership.
DAN'S BOOK: This excerpt is taken from Chapter 17 of Dan Gaynor’s book, "The Heart and Hands of Leadership: The Twelve Timeless Practices of Effective Leaders", published in May of 2014 by Kingsley Publishing.
For more details on Dan's book go to: www.heartandhandsofleadership.com
OUR VIDEO: To view a short video where Dan Gaynor provides some of his insights on the topic of Mentorship Please Click Here.
We welcome your comments to the above and invite you to share them with those in your circle of contacts.
