Turning Relationships into Measurable Leadership Growth

Every important relationship requires a strategic investment and when that investment is made in building authentic mentorship, whether we’re receiving it or giving it, the return will be exponential, especially when we’ve developed a high level of emotional intelligence. For more than three decades, I’ve been blessed with opportunities to interact with and learn from incredible people. While those relationships have helped me grow in every area of my life, the most tangible growth that’s had the farthest reaching impact has come from the mentors who have played an active role in helping me recognize what genuine leadership looks like and how I could work to build that skill set daily.

The mentors I’ve mentioned to this point have been invaluable to me, not just because they provided me with an example I could emulate or with feedback on how I could improve a specific skill. The best mentorship I’ve ever received has come through longstanding relationships where the individual involved was just as clear on the goals I was working toward as I was. Make no mistake, we should each do everything in our power to learn from everyone we can and from every situation we’re faced with. That said, intentional conversation with a close mentor where we set specific and measurable targets for what we want to achieve ensures we’ve both got clarity for any alliance feedback that follows.

I can remember my first conversation with Chris Rollins in May 2015. I had just started the licensing process with Maxwell Leadership but had no real idea what I’d do with it or what my professional future would hold. Only a few months before that, I had started a position with a new company for the first time since I was 19 years old - nearly 19 years prior. I truly thought I’d be with that company at least as long, and possibly until I retired. I was only pursuing the certification with Maxwell Leadership because I had learned so much from John Maxwell’s work and I hoped to pass some of those lessons along in my spare time. Through my first few conversations with Chris, as he guided me through the organization’s onboarding process, he challenged me to think deeper about the impact I was hoping to make than I ever would have on my own. 

Early on, Chris had me list very specific goals for where I wanted to be in my personal and professional life five, ten, and fifteen years later. I don’t remember much about the specifics, although I could likely find the legal pad with those notes if I dug deep enough in my office, but I can say with certainty that what Cindy and I do now - more than a decade later - has wildly surpassed anything I imagined back then. I don’t share that to boast; we’ve worked far harder and fought through obstacles that likely would have prevented me from even putting pen to paper had I pictured them back then. I share it because without having that initial clarity about the difference we could make, I don’t think the path we would have been on would resemble the one we’re on today.

While the mentoring relationship I’ve built with Chris since has grown far beyond the scope of that initial onboard process, it has been crucial in driving our overall leadership success through clear goal and action steps, and guidance in so many areas I had never been exposed to. This relationship didn’t take the place of any of my previous mentors, it built on all that I had learned from them. This new mentorship relationship did more than inspire me to chase goals I had never considered, it delivered measurable results. But just starting the relationship wouldn’t have yielded long-term ROI; I had to work to sustain the relationship - and we’ll pick up there next time.