Mentoring and Leadership
The best leaders ignore the mistakes that can be ignored, quickly correct other errors without making a big deal of it, and yet spend most of their time shaping people’s efforts through praise, rather than criticism. The key to successful business mentoring is getting this balance right.
With that in mind, it is still necessary to understand that different people learn differently. We will work through the items below to adapt our support to get the most from your people
Do they like to gather information through words, and if so, what kind?
Everyone responds to the spoken word, but some people are more “doers” than listeners or readers. For those who do rely more on verbal instruction, we will pay attention to whether or not they like to read and digest information through an independent study process. If they like to read, giving them things to read will help them grow.
If they learn best by spoken word or through discussion, we will supply them with that kind of experience. Do they learn best by hearing stories and examples - or do they respond best to thought provoking questions? Thought provoking questions can be very effective for some people.
Under what conditions do they prefer to take action?
Some people want and need to have a demonstration first of something new, a hands-on way to show you how to do a new task. Other people prefer to jump right in, maybe after some period of observation, which can be short or long, depending on the person’s needs and learning style.
Do they need a “hands-on” or “hands-off” instruction style?
There are some people who need to be prompted to try new things. They might not take the initiative as confidently as some others. Others can go on “auto-pilot,” and you can trust that they will let you know when they need to ask a question or refine their performances.
Is the key to motivation the language of logic or of feeling?
We need to understand motivation. We pay attention to what words people use to describe a good result. If their basic, underlying message is that things went “smoothly” or that the final result “made sense,” that’s a clue that they will most appreciate seeing how new lessons will “make life easier” or be more “sensible” or “logical.” Likewise, if conditions that frustrate them most are things seem “stupid” or “senseless,” its further evidence that we need demonstrate how the lessons will increase efficiency.
On the other hand, if they describe good results as things that “made everyone happy,” and bad results in terms of how awful they felt, then new lessons need to be framed in terms of emotion - how they or others will “feel great” once the new way is adopted. When learning, people need to see “what’s in it for them,” The mentor’s job is to get the message across in the way that best fits each person’s motivational style. Though people are usually a blend of thinking/feeling types, people usually “lead” with one more than the other - one side tends to be stronger for each of us, at least most of the time.
Did you know individual learning style, can broaden your approaches?
Who have been your best teachers, and what approaches did they take? All of us tend to assume - without even realising it - that others learn the way we do. Then, when they don’t respond to our attempts to teach them, it’s easy to presume that they are unwilling, resistant or just not very sharp.
We need to be able to recognise our own styles and broaden our approach to fit the needs of those we lead. If the art of leadership is the art of getting things done through other people, then we have to be flexible enough to become experts on other people and their styles of learning.
Are you sure your best performers are learning lots?
Finally, learning by itself is highly motivational. People who feel that they are learning - that they are challenged - are people who are growing and who don’t have time to be negative. Leaders often make the mistake of thinking that their best performers don’t need to be challenged but this is exactly the wrong approach!
Challenge can stimulate the strongest performers the most, and since they will also grow the most - they yield the highest returns in productivity for the organisation. If you don’t, continue to challenge them, your high performers can get bored and may jump ship, leaving your team with a talent drain that reinforces long-term mediocrity.
If you focus most of your attention on mentoring your weakest links, you will have weaker performance dividends for the team and accidentally place an artificial ceiling on the performance of your group - and of your top performers. Don’t be afraid to challenge people to discover their own potential for greatness!
