When I meet people at meetings and conferences I take note of who is sharp and possibly how they could be of help to me in the future. I also make a note regarding their specific strengths on the back of their business card.

I’ll make sure to enter their contact information into my computer and write the word ‘mentor’ and also jot down a few key areas where they are strong, like, ‘mentor marketing,’ ‘YPO,’  ‘employee engagement,’ etc..  The idea behind building this database is to not only accumulate names, but to build relationships with them over time so I can turn to them for mentoring when I need it.  I have a friend who calls his list of contacts his ‘MBA’: Mentor Board of Advisors.

I’ve never been smart enough to know how to figure stuff out. I have, however, been wise enough to connect with the really smart people and do what they tell me. In addition to the lists I’ve built in my contacts on my laptop, I’ve also built lists of connections on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and reach out to those people often. You don’t need a formal board of advisors for yourself, just a long list of people you’ve met over the years who you can start calling on.  Start your list now.

“I don’t have all the answers – just all the questions.” – quote from a Fortune 500 CEO, but I forget who!

Coaching and developing people is core to any leader’s role, and it requires communication.

Not sure where I heard this, but the phrase; “the ability to get people promoted is the best sign of a great leader” couldn’t be more accurate.  I know I heard it back in the 1980’s during my College Pro Painters days when we spent a lot of time coaching & mentoring franchisees.

Coaching done well is an art, and it helps build communication skills. You take in the information from a coach and turn it into real-world action. By developing the ability to take in that kind of information and turn it into results is a precious skill, and one that should be developed in each of your employees.

The best athletes in the world have coaches and still learn from them. Employees in a growing organization need the same skill development. Learning how to adapt our coaching styles to different situations and give constructive guidance and feedback are important every day because it helps us process information and that turn that into action.

We spend time coaching someone in a business setting because we need the learner to increase their results so we can hit our goals. At the end of the day, coaching will assist us in hitting the results leaders are supposed to hit, too, because we’re communicating our vision for our organization.

There is no question that preparation is one of the most important areas of coaching. If not done properly, the coach is merely flying by the seat of their pants and the learner knows this. This is what I do as I myself, coach and mentor CEO’s in running their businesses.