Welcome to Love Mondays, a weekly newsletter designed as a 3-minute hit to fire up the other 10,077 minutes of your week.

If it takes a village to raise a child then it takes an army to raise a leader. And it takes a diverse army to raise a great leader. Let’s talk about mentors. There is no habit I’ve practised more regularly or that has made more of a contribution to my growth and development as a person and as a leader than this one. But lets be very clear: we do not go seeking mentors, we go seeking learning.

What knowledge are you currently seeking and why?

Write it down.

Consider: who in your circles matches the learning you seek?

Practice: articulating what this person can specifically help you to solve

Decide to: get a warm intro, or, write your own warm intro

Mentoring: a two way dialogue

Mentoring is the topic I get asked about most regularly at the end of my keynotes. ‘How do I find a mentor?’ ‘What makes a good mentor?’ ‘How do I ask someone to be my mentor?’ Many of us are blessed to have a few good people around us who see our potential and offer support. The tricky part is understanding how to turn these relationships into mentoring opportunities and how to actively look for more diverse mentors to enable us to be a more rounded leader. Here’s my tips:

Flex up - don’t be shy, ask that incredible person for a conversation

Follow up - you may need to followup once or twice without being pushy

Read up - do your research so your questions are specific to their experience

Show up (on time) - be super respectful by starting and finishing on the dot

Level up - be generous with your own connections and ideas

Say thank you - so simple but so often forgotten!

A few words of wisdom from someone we look up to can transform our worldview, sustain us during challenging times, and inspire us to pursue ambitious goals. The best advice can create the foundation of a career or even a movement, and light the way for those around us. 

Thank you to everyone who’s joined our now 15,000+ strong community (Dunbar’s number for movement-making!) of Easy Tiger and Love Mondays readers. We appreciate your readership. If you’d like to help us spread the word, why not share Love Mondays with a friend?

Hey one more thing before you head into the week, I have an epic leadership challenge kicking off in February 2022. Join a community of like minded changemakers taking on daily 15 minute challenges to hone our leadership skills. The world needs more epic leadership. Are you up for the challenge?

Love your Mondays