We have reached rung nine up our C-Suite Ladder – Find a mentor or someone more advanced in their career and watch them as they build relationships and provide value to their organization.
You have heard the expression “Curiosity killed the cat”, well maybe not for the person that wants to grow and learn from others more advanced then themselves. A contributor to the C-Suite is someone that continues to be curious. Curiosity leads to learning and learning leads to application of valuable information that is worth sharing.
Jim Rohn says to find a voice of reason and stick around a while. Seek out a mentor or coach that is a voice that fills you with knowledge and wisdom. As you begin to gain a voice of knowledge you will be sought after. You will find as you seek to find someone to speak into your life, being in your presence will be an attraction to others.
Seek out opportunities to learn and grow. Attend learning opportunities whether it’s meetings, reading of good materials or listening to good CD’s or videos. I have found that the TED talks are quick and very informative on many topics. Be careful what you put into your minds as sometimes the information is garbage. You can find a few crumbs of food in the dumpster of a nice restaurant, but that is not the place to look for food. Same is true with some of the things you listen to or read. Be careful. A dear friend one time told me that most of what we see or read has a few rat droppings in it, you just have to be careful to recognize what are droppings.
Become aware of the areas in your own life that you need to be working on daily. When you find a mentor or coach, use them to listen and respond with insight to what you are seeking to improve. We all need help and the resources are plentiful. Face to face meetings to help you flesh out your thoughts can be very beneficial. Today, many are seeking help and going to the internet or calling an 800 number. You may receive some help, but remember the personal interface will give you the tools you need to learn and grow with fresh thoughts that have been sifted and refined in your mentoring or coaching session. I can tell you that my thoughts sometimes are great in my mind, but after talking and discussing them with my coach, they become clear and poignant.
Good models and mentors are available and they love to help others. It has been said that when the student is ready the leader will appear. A good teacher or mentor understands how to teach and coach.
C – Cares for others
O – Observes their attitudes, behaviors and performance
A – Aligns people with their strengths for peak performance
C – Communicates and gives feedback – people want encouragement more than correction (90% encouragement | 10% correction)
H – Help others improve
A truly successful person is one that contributes more. Success to the C-Suite is always a contribution.
If you were to look at these clues just listed, would others find you a contributor or a consumer of success in your workplace? If you are looking to learn how to do this effectively, seek out a person like we have just described and ask them to mentor you. If you do not know of someone, seek out a professional performance coach and work with them as you are able to learn their ways. In a unique way all of us have something to contribute to another person so keep in mind that you are providing them some value in return. Look for ways to help them to improve in what they are doing. Giving in return for receiving brings all the boats higher in the water.
TRAVIS JONES CEO
Travis has been an entrepreneur and business owner in Tulsa for over 30 years. He is a well-known community servant and is dedicated to providing world-class service for everyone we encounter.Travis is a certified Life Options Retirement Coach and is certified to facilitate and deliver the Manager As Coach Learning Series (MACLS) through CPI. He serves on the board of Career Partners International (CPI) and is an equity partner in CPI, offering a global reach with over 220 offices. Travis serves on the Elder Board at Tulsa Bible Church, on the board of New Life Ranch and is a proud member of Tulsa Executives Association (TEA) and is active with several other organizations serving the community and beyond.
Email: travis@cdpartnersinc.com
