In Order To Be Truly Great

I started waiting tables at 16 years of age. I got the job because my father was an active duty Air Force Officer. My dad was also an instructor in his field of work, and around that time he shared with me that a good trainer makes their trainees better than the trainer. I know, I learned a lot about leadership having casual conversations with my father as a teen.

A year after I was hired, I was training new servers. And wouldn’t you know, all my trainees either out earned me in tips, or could handle more tables than I could. I considered their abilities a badge of honor.

So my father and I recently talked about training. 

One of the things about training is how it enlightens a person. The more you learn, the less you know.

This is when something interesting happens. I see the VP that won’t hire talented Operations Managers because they don’t have more experience than the VP (weird, right?) I’ve witnessed the 30 year experienced Executive Assistant want to hire the 40 year experienced Executive Assistant so they can have a mentor. 

This happens because people have learned so much, they finally realize they need to continue learning. This comes from humility. And I am grateful to work with people who have the always learning mindset.

But, I’d like to challenge people who are still learning, and wanting to learn more. Which brings me back to my conversation with my Dad.

“In order to be truly great, you must train someone to be better than you.”

When you get to the point in your career that you realize you need to keep learning, and you want to learn, that’s when it’s time to turn the tables on yourself. It’s time for YOU to become the mentor. It’s time for YOU to take on the trainee. 

You know why? Because your trainee will listen, and many trainees will improve upon your wisdom. Then you will learn more, through the shared wisdom of your experience.

Using their enthusiasm is a great way to become the mentee, because you challenged yourself to make another person great.

I challenge you:

  • Share your wisdom

  • Make someone else great at what you do

  • Watch how they improve your methods

  • Implement new and exciting ideas together

Happy Monday!!

Human Resources, Growth, ConceptsDaava Millsmentor, trainingComment