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Recently I discovered a conflict on my calendar – I had two client meetings scheduled simultaneously.
I asked Lue, our Director of Operations, to cover one of those meetings for me – a strategic session with the mentoring program team at a hospital. When we connected afterward for a debrief, Lue expressed joy from her great meeting! The team requested some changes to their mentoring program, and Lue earnestly said, “Yes! We can do that!” And then, she implemented the changes in the meeting for the team to see. I heard the pride in Lue’s voice as she shared her experience – she had delighted this client! But my knee-jerk reaction killed that joy. I blurted, “Oh no! Jane [the program lead’s boss] will not like that we made changes for one hospital but not all of them!” Lue was apologetic but also defensive. She thought she had served the client well. And then it hit me… Lue led that meeting exactly as I would have. She has seen me lead client meetings a thousand times. I constantly say, “Yes! We can do that!” I enjoy making changes for a team to see while we’re meeting. And I’m always excited to surprise and delight our clients. Lue didn’t just handle the meeting by herself. She filled my shoes! But I’m not surprised. She has been observing me in action for two years. As a result, I have been inadvertently mentoring her. Had I paused to recognize this before I asked Lue to handle the meeting for me, I could have intentionally mentored her. I could have provided her the context she needed and prepared her with a strategy. So, I owed Lue an apology. I managed, but I forgot to mentor. When we’re distracted managing expectations, we forget our teams learn by observing and modeling us. If we are committed to being better bosses, we must acknowledge this inadvertent mentoring and strengthen it with intentional mentoring. Lue figured out how to fill my shoes by watching me, but next time I’m committed to providing her with the shoelaces. © 2021. Ann Tardy and Mentor Lead. www.mentorlead.com |