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Kevin W. McCarthy, MBA & Professional Speaker

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relationship

Can I TRUST You?

February 11, 2016 By kwmccarthy

TRUST: Truth, Respect, Understanding, Sincerity, Time

Can I TRUST you? is a question living at the heart of every relationship. Trust is a precious and valuable state of being in a relationship.

Trust in business and in sales is an essential and valuable character quality that pays dividends. Squander your trust and you ruin your business. Build trust and you grow your business.

By way of negative example, our late dog, Hamlet (shown a couple of years ago), was a great family dog, but a shining example of the cost of lost trust. His intelligence surprised us regularly. His one great flaw was being off leash. Within the home and fenced backyard, Hamlet
Hamlet McCarthy would come when called (about half the time). Off the leash, however, at the dog park or when he escaped, Hamlet was a standard poodle gone wild. He would be gone for hours. Generally, he circled the house in large walkabouts through the neighborhood. Even as he got older and could barely walk, he would still take advantage of an open door or gate to wander about.

His disobedience came with a price. He rarely got to go to the dog park to play with other dogs. When it was time to leave, he wouldn’t. As a result of this distrust, Hamlet lost out on all sorts of privileges and benefits that a more trustworthy pooch would receive. 

Hopefully, today’s On-Purpose Business Minute gives you “paws” for thought on what lack of trust could be costing you in terms of sales, employee turnover, and other challenges that undermine your business profits.

Filed Under: Business, Career & Work, Family, Tips, Trends, & Techniques, Work Life Balance Tagged With: Business, Customer, Hamlet, Management, relationship, respect, Sales, sincerity, Time management, trust, truth, understanding, Work

Do You Have A Mentor?

September 12, 2013 By kwmccarthy



TOPLEX LogoDo you want to become a better leader of your life?  Learn how at The On-Purpose Leader Experience at our website. Enrollment is happening now for a new Experience starting Tuesday, Sept. 24. Visit the website and watch Webcast 1 from September 2012.

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A couple of decades ago a friend of mine attempted to organize a mentor program for those of us in our thirties. He reached out to select men in their 50s and 60s to recruit them as mentors. To his surprise, all of the men he approached felt inadequate to the task of being a mentor. You see, they had never really been mentored so they perceived themselves as not being up to the task and responsibility. Sadly, the program never got off the ground as a result.

Chances are that you, too, don't have a mentor. But do you wish you did?

A mentor is a person with an impersonal interest in your personal leadership development and personal growth. You may be thinking, "'an impersonal interest?' I would think it would be a very personal interest." 

Actually, those of us who mentor need to maintain a healthy distance from our proteges lest we run the risk of being too close to the person. We risk becoming their fan, instead of their mentor. The effect of too much closeness colors our perceptions and shades our reflective feedback.

As a mentor, I must place my commitment to the mentor-protege roles and process above the personal relationship. Similarly, a defense lawyer must place the system of law above the client to ensure justice is served.

To have a "yes man" as a mentor is to have no mentor at all. Mentors must be able to speak truth in love and be willing to suffer the consequence of offending. Truth is the stock and trade of a mentor. 

Mentors aren't dictators; we refine and develop a person's inherent leadership and innate intelligence and capacity for good. Allowing proteges to experience the consequences of their decisions comes with the title of mentor. We need to speak our piece and learn to shut up. Our ultimate interest must be independent, not co-dependent, proteges. Any mentor who is doing otherwise, is simply on an ego trip.

Yoda from Star Wars may be the most famous of all fictional mentors as the unlikely leader of the Jedi Knights. Wouldn't we all like to have a mentor teach us to use "The Force" so we can perform like a Jedi? Recall, however, how many times old Yoda seems to scrunch his face in dismay as Anakin or Luke Skywalker gets ready to do some impulsive (stupid) move that will turn the Force into a Farce.  

Who in your life is or was a mentor for you? What is it about your mentor relationship that makes it special? What does your mentor provide you?

In the interim, The On-Purpose Leader Experience is a highly affordable option where I'm available to be your mentor via phone and the online group.

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Filed Under: Career & Work, Film, Profiles On-Purpose®, Television, Work Life Balance Tagged With: advisor, Anakin Skywalker, Coach, Force (Star Wars), growth, Jedi, Leadership, Luke Skywalker, manager, Mentor, Personal development, personal interest, protege, relationship, Star Wars, Yoda

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