“How’s Thursday at 1:00?”
Relationships are great until they’re out of balance.
But that seems to happen fairly often, doesn’t it?
As the saying goes, “If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.”
But, in a mentoring situation, the mentor is going to be smarter than the mentee, but that doesn’t mean that they’re in the wrong room, does it?
I don’t think so.
But, occasionally, it is seen that the mentor is less active than the mentee to set up meetings.
So, sometimes one person continues to push, push, and push. It has been often for me to contact someone 2, 3, even 4 times before setting up a meeting, even if it’s someone I already have a relationship with.
So, how’s Thursday at 1:00?
Is that good for you? I hope so. If not, I’ll arrange my schedule to accommodate you.
That’s the way it is.
People I meet with have often told me, “I love these meetings, I love talking to you because I’m learning too. I actually think I’m learning more than I’m teaching.”
I’d chalk that up to the questions that I ask. I truly live by the 80/20 rule in these conversations. I might share something from my life but then ask a question for reflection and spend time listening to their perspective.
So, while the people I meet with often say that they are learning a lot from me, most of what they learn is one of two things:
1. It is usually a new perspective — mine or someone else’s that I share.
2. Or, they learn something new about themselves or the way that they were looking at a situation or perspective.
I shared on Tuesday some of the questions that I ask when I’m meeting with someone to ensure that I’m learning. But, the most important question? It’s one word.
Why?
Why do you think what you do? Why do you do what you do? Why are you who you are?
And it’s no surprise that people say that they learn from me, I learn more about myself every single day.
So, if you can help someone learn about themselves when they are around you? They’ll want to come back, won’t they? They’ll want to spend more time with you, won’t they?
That’s what good company is all about.
That is why some wildly influential people were as influential as they were.
When Jesus walked the earth He rewarded those who displayed faith in Him, and rightfully so. But, He also taught some people A LOT about themselves. Peter denied Him 3 times, as Jesus told him that he would do.
Peter learned about himself.
I’ve heard lots of different advice on ways to start a meeting but there’s one great piece of advice I recently heard from Heidi Grant.
She stated that to ask for something, to be specific.
If you want to meet with someone, share why. What’s the purpose of the meeting? How can the person being invited help you?
Everyone has a lot going on and most don’t want to waste their time. It’s valuable to be able to share expectations from the jump.
Who knows, you just might learn something.