Welcome back brew nation! It’s the “Friday Coffee Guy” coming to you with another edition of The Champion’s Brew, a weekly assembly of material I am reading, listening to, watching, or thinking about that is designed to equip and call you to uncommon leadership. I often add my own little spin based on my takeaways and would love your input as well. Any of the points especially impact you? Drop me a note at [email protected], or comment on the blog to keep the conversation going! I believe you will discover that the format is not only useful, but also that you can consume it within the time it takes you to enjoy your daily ‘brew’! Become a member of the Champions Brew Nation by subscribing here!!
Here is your weekly sip of what I have been reading, listening to or watching to equip me to:
- Be Coachable – DO YOU NEED A COACH?
The dictionary defines a coach as: “a person involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a team or of individual “. I think that is a fair definition. I expand that definition myself to : a coach is “a person involved in leading an individual or team to a place they might not be able to go on their own.”
As a leader, you should want to develop and grow as an individual. Do you need a coach to help you grow? Here are 3 questions that you need to ask to determine if you might need a coach:
1) Do you have someone that asks you about your personal goals?
2) Do you have someone that asks you about your business or professional goals?
3) Do you have someone that asks you about your family goals?
4) Do you have someone that challenges you on your fitness or health goals?
If you answered ‘no’ to any of those questions above, then you probably need a coach. Now, you don’t have to go out and sign up for an executive, business, or life coach (although that may be helpful and I would love to chat with you about that!), but you do need to have someone in your life that will ask you these questions above and hold you accountable to making changes. You also might need to start reading more in the areas of these questions.
- Grow others – One of my daily readings from The Maxwell Daily Reader this week was on the 5-step process of training. I thought these steps were essential to the development/growth of others. Here they are:
1) Model – If we are going to develop others the process starts with ourselves. What am I doing to give my mentee an opportunity to see what good looks like in a leader?
2) Mentor – Who am I bringing alongside of me to learn in the journey?
3) Monitor – Once I start to mentor someone, how am I monitoring their progress? It is important in this phase to be positive and encouraging, but most importantly, truthful in the areas they need to improve.
4) Motivate – At this point you are asking the person you are coaching to get in the game. Be an encourager, but not a hero. It is really at this point where it is critical to allow them to make mistakes so that they can show they can learn from those mistakes.
5) Multiply – Now, once that new leader has become proficient in the process, it is time to challenge them to teach others. You Grow Champions that… Grow Champions. It’s that simple AND that challenging!
- Stay Strong – Success can be defined by three things according to John Maxwell:
- Knowing my purpose in life
- Growing to my potential
- Sowing seeds that benefit others
Over the next few editions of the brew, I will chat about how you determine the path to achieving those three things. Let’s start with purpose. How do I determine my purpose? To do this, you can ask yourself a few questions:
1) What do I dream about? When you daydream, what are the things you can see yourself doing when you are living out your purpose?
2) What am I good at? What do you find easy to do? Fact is, I can dream about playing basketball in the NBA, but I am pretty sure that at my age, I am not going to be able to play at that level. So, while it is important to dream, it is also important to face some reality.
3) What are my opportunities? If I can identify what I dream about AND I have a talent in that area, then what opportunity do I have to display that talent and live out that dream? You may get the opportunity to do this as your paid career. That would be the jackpot to get paid for what you dream about and what you are good at. However, it may not be something that you do as a career or vocation, but something you do that benefits others.
- Quote – “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.” – D.L. Moody
What you need to do:
Call to Action: So, what do you dream about? Do you have a talent in that area? If you have talent an area that you are dreaming about, what is holding you back from going after that dream? My challenge to you would be to take one action… one step… that moves you toward your dream this week. It doesn’t have to be huge. It can be reading an article, listening to a podcast, researching how to start a business, etc. But, to finish, your first must start. The best time to plant a tree was probably 20 or more years ago. The next best time is today! Plant that seed today!
