Chip R. Bell's Blog, page 21
July 1, 2014
The Magic of “I Have Complete Authority”
It was destined to be an awesome surprise dinner for a newly degreed M.D. In addition to her friends, her family was flying all the way from India to celebrate their daughter’s graduation from medical school.
The surprise was staged at the fine restaurant at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton South Beach on Miami Beach. We watched as the Ritz guest relation’s person, Paul, meticulously placed decorations on the reserved table. The centerpiece was a gorgeous cake we later learned Paul had designed and...
June 27, 2014
The Mentor’s Role as Champion Grower
What do Clint Eastwood in the movie Million Dollar Baby, Tom Cruise in Jerry McGuire, and Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans—have in common? They are all characters who supported and sought the best in others, even in their darkest hours. Growing champions isn’t necessarily about applause, cheers, or approval. All of those actions may be present, but championing makes someone feel treasured, not just appreciated. They use the philosophy first espoused by Carol Lavin Bernick, chair of ha...
June 24, 2014
Life After Mentoring
Effective mentoring relationships are rich, engaging, and intimate. But all such arrangements must come to an end, and no matter how hard we may try to avoid it, every ending has a bittersweet dimension. As Shakespeare so eloquently reminds us, “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” As you and your protégé reach the end of your partnership, how do you manage “farewell” with a focus on “well”?
You would be remiss in your duties as a mentor to make the parting an occasion for lingering regret. Healthy...
June 20, 2014
Mentoring is Not About Mastery
The goal of mentoring is not simply learning. The goal of mentoring is to foster betterment . . . better performance, greater productivity, higher effectiveness. Granted there is merit in learning for learning’s sake. But in today’s business world with its razor-thin margins, learning must be for result’s sake. Mentors don’t have the luxury of helping protégés increase their knowledge but not their use of that knowledge.
Transfer of learning has been the challenge for all learning facilitators...
June 17, 2014
The Gift of Balance
There’s a bluebird house on an oak tree six feet from our bedroom window. The same pair of bluebirds comes each spring to build, populate, and empty a nest in it. This past spring, their parenting process caused me to reflect on how instructive bluebird flying lessons could be for mentors. Bluebirds don’t just hatch eggs and depart. They act as mentors in getting a young bird from the security of the birdhouse to the serenity of flight.
Effective mentoring is especially crucial in this era of...
June 13, 2014
The Gift of Focus
Adult learning and child learning are different when it comes to focus. Children are patient with delayed application and the promise that “someday you’ll find this helpful.” Adults question the worth of knowing the ingredients of the pie at the king’s banquet. As adults, we want real-time relevance and immediate application. And, if the tie to usefulness is unclear or absent, our motivation drops and our attention drifts.
Proper protégé motivation is vital to protégé learning. Motivation is s...
June 9, 2014
The Gift of Feedback
Franklin Jones wisely said, “Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger.”
How do you give feedback intended to fuel growth? Start by recognizing that while giving advice can surface resistance, giving feedback can stir up resentment. Advice is about expanding the scope of knowledge; feedback is about filling a blind spot.
In the late sixties I served in Vietnam as an army infantry unit commander in the 82nd Airborne. Attached to this...
June 6, 2014
The Gift of Advice
Someone once asked famed college football coach turned ESPN commentator Lou Holtz what he considered to be the toughest part of his job as a coach. With his typical “aw shucks” charm, he finessed the question but ultimately communicated that one of the hardest parts was “teaching lessons that stay taught.”
Mentors have a similar challenge. Mentoring can involve everything from chalkboard teaching to spirited discussion to circulation of relevant articles, but one of its most challenging parts...
June 3, 2014
Become a Learning Organization
Sony was founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka (1908-1997) as a small electronics shop in a bomb-damaged department store building in Tokyo. The company had $530 in capital and a total of eight employees. The radios they manufactured at the time were, like most around the world, crafted with vacuum tubes.
The transistor was invented in the early 1950’s. Most electronics makers knew the invention would revolutionize their industry. All knew it would take time to retrofit factories to incorporate the...
May 30, 2014
How to Spot a Great Mentor
So, you are looking for a mentor! They come in many shapes, sizes and varieties. But, the best mentors have a few common characteristics. Doing your homework with the following mentor shopping list in mind can be the difference between getting stuck with an egotistical braggart or a person who can make a difference in your career development.
Partnership Focused
Unlike a relationship based on power and control, a learning partnership is a balanced alliance, grounded in mutual interests, interd...
