Monday Morning Mentoring: Ten Lessons to Guide You Up the Ladder

by David Cottrell

Everyone who wants a fulfilling career needs a mentor -- someone who has seen it all before, someone who can share hard-won experiences and teach valuable lessons. In this expanded and enhanced version of his best-selling book, Monday Morning Leadership , David Cottrell packs all of the wisdom of his wide-ranging business experience into this inspirational story. Cottrell introduces us to Jeff, a successful corporate manager who has hit a major wall. Jeff has been leading his team, quarter after quarter, to great sales and better profits for several years -- until now. The tricks that used to work wonders have lost their magic; Jeff is in a slump and is at a loss to find his way out of it. Overworked, stressed, and feeling that his personal and professional lives are at risk, Jeff reaches out to the father of a college buddy, a retired and tremendously accomplished former executive named Tony. Tony and Jeff agree to meet every Monday for ten weeks to work through Jeff's problems and get his career back on track. In the course of these intimate sessions, Jeff discovers the secrets of real leadership: "Until I accept total responsibility -- no matter what -- I will not be able to put plans in place to accomplish my goals." And, "My success is the result of making better choices and recovering quickly from poor choices." Tony leads Jeff through tough lessons in how to manage his people, how to manage his own time, how to manage his superiors, and how to escape from "management land." Most of all, Jeff learns that his success is intimately bound with the success of his people and that tolerating lackluster performance in himself and others on the team only leads to discontent from his most prized and productive employees. Through Jeff's mentoring sessions, the reader meets a character of integrity who dispenses homespun but effective wisdom. Spend time with Tony and Jeff at their Monday morning meetings, and you will find yourself on the road to becoming a better leader and being more successful at work.

Genres: Business, Management, Nonfiction, Leadership, Professional Development, Personal Development

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Kaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

solid advice that may seem intuitive but are helpful to remember! great for new leaders and leaders stuck in a rut.

key takeaways:
-take ownership of your life; hold yourself accountable and have a positive attitude to change your reaction to circumstances
-basically be nice and care about the people you work with
-lead with integrity even when it's hard; discipline is the difference between mediocrity and success
-work smarter not harder- be efficient and use introspection to improve your time management

[Diana Nagy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will say this...David Cottrell knows his stuff. Every single one of his books I have read, I have really enjoyed. All of his stories contain the lessons within, which are easily grasped, and there is even more advice afterwards. I have always loved his books because of their shorter length, space between the sentences and just the way they are organized. The subject matters don't hurt either. This is a book well worth reading if you are looking to mentor someone in your life, which we should all be doing. Not everyone realizes that there is always someone out there that you can assist with something you've experienced in your life that they could use your advice about. It's well worth letting people know that you are seeking mentees to help in any way you are able. Is being a leader what you aspire to? Because you should be a mentor if you want to be a leader. People follow leaders who are interested in helping others become the best they can be. Keep in mind, we're not all meant to be leaders. But we are all meant to share our experiences with others in order to help them to learn from our mistakes so they can go on and not do the same thing.

[Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent lessons, but written very poorly and hastily. This book accomplishes its purpose, however, in getting people who (I assume) do not read very much to read this book and, potentially, read other books.

[Callie · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first as I read the "story-like" setting I was drawn in, then I thought, hey he said give away ... that means "free", then I realized it was all just good story telling interwoven with good tips. So, strange that the was one chapter that I felt like "hey, I know and do this from somewhere" -- I still don't recall where, I know it was something I read, but the rest of it was either new, or very helpful to be aware of the ideas. I would read another book by this author. Too bad it took me so long to get around to reading this one, it's been sitting quietly on my shelf for years, just waiting for the right moment to fall into my currently reading pile. It's an easy read and makes good sense to the right people, you can use some of the tips in your personal life, not just business.

[Rob Fyfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't enjoy the self-help/leadership genre, but I keep trying in order to strengthen my leadership skills. I enjoyed that this book had a bulletized list at the end of each chapter. It was a very quick read, and it gave my book club plenty to discuss, but the story was waaaay too fake to be taken seriously. Nobody changes that much in 10 weeks. Nobody has the perfect solution to every problem at their fingertips. And nobody can afford to interview three people three times for every open position. Yet there remains some good advice in the book.

[Matt Leiv · Rating 4 out of 5]

"things are never as bad as they seem..just like in good times, they are never as good as they seem. They are always somewhere in between"

Was sent this book by Brett Ressler to read. If you are in a management role in any way or leadership, this is a good one. It's a lot of the same info you would learn in a business school management course however, it's written in an engaging storyline to keep the reader involved.

The advice is solid, proven, and results driven. I was more interested in the end about attitude and goals but it was all good stuff. Easy read, check it out.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the structure - masking the lessons as a story and mentor relationship rather than just a list of bullet points. The mentor did most of the talking and information sharing, which is different from most of the other mentor-related books that I have read. The main takeaway I will incorporate into my daily work life is to set aside chunks of time to complete specific tasks (emails, meeting notes, program planning, etc.) so that I am focused during a set amount of time versus lazily engaging with the work throughout the day.

[Scott M Sizer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright book. Less about mentoring than just general career success. The structure was pretty fake and the story setting more set up for a series of monologues.

That said, I did pick some useful ideas up, especially from the back 1/3 of the book. The last couple of lessons I thought were meaningful and applicable.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice easy read which has many tidbits to choose from which could be welcome additions to ones work life. It definitely inspired the institution of weekly one-on-one meetings with my supervisor. These meetings have definitely enriched our relationship which is good for both of us as well as our organization.

[Alayna Sands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Info, Quick Read

I enjoyed reading this book. Like many other leadership books, the indignation shared was nothing new but was packaged in a way that made it accessible and easy to digest.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super quick book-I finished it in about 2 hours. I absolutely adore the advice about the importance of reading everyday. I also liked the emphasis on how our attitudes are 100% within our control and not subject to outside forces. Overall, helpful information.

[Steven Booth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, quick book reminding the reader the key important things about leading and managing. Does not present anything new or revolutionary, but is great for young leaders or older ones in need of a refresh.

[Heber Ciminski · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book got a little cheesy sometimes with the way it was written, but overall this genre of teaching through a fictional story is alright. Reminded me of “The Goal” that I read in a class during my undergrad.

[Hala · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book says it all..

[Madeline DiCenso · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for class and it was a droning monologue.

[Stevie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the best book I've ever read, but it does have some useful concepts, and is presented in an easy to read format (each chapter is a different conversion)

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The lessons are good; I will take them with me. The writing is so campy it was hard for me to look beyond, but luckily, it was a short book that moved quickly.

[Ashlyn B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read quick chapters! Perfect self-motivating book for a work book club with timeless advice.

[Joshua Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A productive read, where I found some parts super interesting and will try to instill to make my life more fulfilling.

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an easy read. Though not the most well written, this book had some surprisingly insightful chapters that I could relate to. I liked the conversational style of the book, as it made it more engaging.

[Jason Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book in anticipation for a class I am currently finishing in Management and Public Administration based on a handout from the instructor. Turned out we didn't use the text in the class. I liked this book as much as I can like any of the story centered business books that are out there. In previous reviews of those types of materials I discredited the author and the narrative for being disengenuine and overtly paternalistic. I still hold that to be true, that the majority of those materials fail on those swords. However, I did read this book twice - perhaps out of boredom and perhaps because my kindle wasn't connecting properly - and I don't regret it. The message that is both lost and in your face throughout this book is it is you that make a difference and not your ideas or meetings. One person is the change for an organization. I've embraced that idea in the last few months and while there is resistance on ideas my longer range vision usually puts those fears to sleep. Read this book if you want to reimagine your effectiveness with people. Otherwise it's a skip.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some valuable insights this book (some new to me, some I already knew but bore repeating). My three biggest take-aways:
• On alignment – “keep the main thing the main thing.” (e.g. not getting bogged down in “management-land” or email for their false sense of accomplishment)
• On transitioning from worker to manager – ground rules change; you have more responsibility; and paradoxically have less freedom (e.g. can’t be everybody’s friend).
• On de-motivated workers - “people quit people before they quit companies.” Especially the thought experiment about minimum acceptable performance and the impact that retaining "falling stars" has on morale.

The book is an overview of a number of management concepts including: alignment, change management, management-by-walking-around, etc. It discusses these concepts in a conversational, story-driven way. Not bad.

[Noora · Rating 3 out of 5]

My father got me thing book last year for two reasons:
1- I had a leadership program
2- And because he thought every person my age should read it (15-25)

This was my first "mangement-kind-of-book" and I enjoyed it!
Very easy to read. Its written in a conversational style, which is very straightforward, and at the same time exciting.

If you enjoy character development and all that, then this book is not for you.
There is no development in characters. The people in the book are dull and static.

** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE WHO STUDY BUSINESS, & MANAGEMENT **

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A record of ten sessions between an faltering manager and his mentor. The book tells how this man was tuned in to his own problems as a manager and turned around to become the great Leader of good employees he could be. It is written in a relevant way to the benefit of others. Must read for those in positions of leadership at work.

[Rod Hinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, this was a practical read. I felt like it gave me insight into how I might deal with various professional challenges. For instance, it prompted me to have a conversation with our new President on how he and I might work more effectively as a team. The book and/or the what I learned was not profound but reassuring.

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some great insights into the business world. I couldn't rate it anything higher than 3 stars because while I find these kinds of books useful, I don't "enjoy" reading them like I do the books I read for pleasure. I would recommend this to people who want to succeed in the business world.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quick read. Entertaining but the content is weak. I would not recommend this book to anyone unless you wanted something very mindless.

My husband recommended this to me because he found it lightly entertaining and knew I was desperately trying to find a book that would be interesting enough to finish!

[Salwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I'm still a student and didn't start my life career yet .. But this book has told me a lot about ho to make decisions and how to be successful in any thing u do. Amazing book and I see it as a story full of wisdom.

[Pamela Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was assigned to me as part of my reading for Leadership and Organizational Behavior in my MBA program. Excellent book, quick and easy read with the lessons summarized at the end of each chapter. Lessons are easily applied personally and professionally.

[Fobixx · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you ever worked in customer service and managed people some scenarios might sound familiar... A good book to read and re-read as a reminder.
Did I enjoy it - nope lol I read them for business not for pleasure ;)