Many years ago I was working for a company that put a big emphasis on mentoring. As a senior account rep, I was approached by my supervisor (Bill) to mentor a team member who had just been hired. With my natural love of coaching, I eagerly agreed to take on the mentor assignment. The first thing I did was ask Bill, “What are the most important areas of professional development you would like me to focus on?” Bill replied with a predictable menu that included prospecting, tracking, learning specific terms, and sales language. Then Bill concluded with, “And I want you to work with him on the weekly forecast sheet we turn in every Monday.” I looked at Bill and saw a twinkle in his eye. I thought, “You son of a gun”. You see, I was not consistent at turning in my weekly forecast sheet. I knew that was going to change immediately if I wanted to lead by example – and I did. Bill knew it too. How sneaky! He tricked me! No, he didn’t. Bill was just being a resourceful leader. His delegation was well thought out. He designed it so that both me and person I was mentoring would grow.
Instead of nagging me about doing my report every week, Bill put me in a situation where I would naturally want to do it. I did become consistent with my reports and I didn’t feel manipulated. Bill created a “win-win”.
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