Mentors for Youth

 As a young adult in today’s world, one might wonder who to look for as a mentor. 

This article will give you some ideas of who might be a great mentor for you. This can also be used by a leader of any age, not just youth. 

The three top recommendations are find your mentors, learn about your mentors and decide how you will lead based on what you have learned from them. 

Find Your Mentors

When looking for a mentor - look for someone who has what you want. If you wanted to own a non-profit, following a for-profit organization leader might lead you to different philosophies and ideas. Consider what non-profit organization you have an interest in and ones that have a good name in your community.

Seek out those leaders by way of asking for introductions through common acquaintances. Learn how the organization operates, what their mission, vision and daily operational practices are. The for-profit leader may not  have the expertise or skill set in fundraising or event planning like the non-profit leader would.

Learn About Your Mentors

In addition to sifting and sorting what you're interested in, read books by leaders in the field  you wish to pursue. If you are not sure where your final interest will end up, talk to lots of leaders to help you identify the direction you wish you follow. 

Another simple skill you might pursue is that of asking a lot of questions from everyone you consider to be a leader. Ask them what they love about what they do, what their struggles are, and what they would have done differently if they were to do it all again. There are never too many questions. Keep asking them until you find your top mentors in the field that you wish to pursue. 

Once you have your mentors identified, follow them in all ways possible. See if they are an author, do they have a website, a blog, a podcast, and are you a follower on all of their social media accounts. Learn how they communicate, follow their responses to issues that arise, and watch their leadership style. 

Decide How You Will Lead

Then decide for yourself what you like and dislike about how they do things. To be the best leader, you must not just follow a mentor but be able to decide for yourself how you will want to lead your future followers. 

The world needs strong leaders of all ages - including YOU. 

Best, 

Manal

When You Think of Leadership

 When you think of leadership what do you think of? Who do you think of?  

I think of a leader who can inspire a vision of the future and move others to it.  

Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

According to the idea of transformational leadership, an effective leader is a person who does the following:

1. Creates an inspiring vision of the future.

2. Motivates and inspires people to engage with that vision.

3. Manages delivery of the vision.

4. Coaches and builds a team, so that it is more effective at achieving the vision.

Leadership brings together the skills needed to do these things. Let’s look at creating a vision for the future first. 

Creating an Inspiring Vision of the Future

In business, a vision is a realistic, convincing and attractive depiction of where you want to be in the future. Vision provides direction, sets priorities, and provides a marker, so that you can tell that you've achieved what you wanted to achieve.

To create a vision, leaders focus on an organization's strengths by using tools such as Porter's Five Forces, PEST Analysis, USP Analysis, Core Competence Analysis  and SWOT Analysis  to analyze their current situation. They think about how their industry is likely to evolve, and how their competitors are likely to behave. They look at how they can innovate successfully, and shape their businesses and their strategies to succeed in future marketplaces. And they test their visions with appropriate market research, and by assessing key risks using techniques.

Leadership is proactive – problem solving, looking ahead, and not being satisfied with things as they are.

Once they have developed their visions, leaders must make them compelling and convincing. A compelling vision is one that people can see, feel, understand, and embrace. Effective leaders provide a rich picture of what the future will look like when their visions have been realized. They tell inspiring stories, and explain their visions in ways that everyone can relate to. Leadership combines the analytical side of vision creation with the passion of shared values, creating something that's really meaningful to the people being led.

Best, 

Manal

Gravitas - What Is It?

I just ran into someone the other day that hadn’t ever heard the word gravitas. 

So I wanted to take a moment to ask you if you have heard of it and if you know what it is? 

5 Ways You Can Improve Your Gravitas

Wikipedia says “Gravitas was one of the ancient Roman virtues that denoted "seriousness". It is also translated variously as weight, dignity, and importance and connotes restraint and moral rigor. It also conveys a sense of responsibility and commitment to the task.”

First, let’s think about the positive outcome of having gravitas. After all, if you are going to work on it, it’s worth thinking about why having gravitas is beneficial. Let’s look at it without using the word gravitas and rather the benefits of it.

Which of these positives would benefit you?

1. Increasing your personal confidence – something we all need in our professional lives.

2. You’ll get people’s attention quicker and keep it.

3. You’re more likely to get the answer you want from your audience, whether that be a group or an individual.

4. You’ll feel happier in your work life as you spend time working on what you do and why (what you enjoy about it).

5. You’ll be more memorable and be the ‘go to’ person when someone needs an expert in your field.

We now know why you would want more gravitas but how do you get it? 

1. Listen and respond to others. When talking, if something comes up you are unsure about, be honest. 

2. Use your choice of words and tonality to win the attention of others.

3. Use body language to alternate between authority and approachability. 

4. Remember to pause. Not everything requires an immediate response and thinking about something before you speak is good.

5. Be willing to ask questions of others and listen intently to what they have to say. 

Start watching the gravitas of others and you’ll begin to see it in yourself as well.

Best,

Manal