Leading, Guiding, Mentoring, Teaching and Coaching People

I hope we all at some point had a parent, mentor, teacher, leader, boss, or coach that just stayed on us hard and held us to a high standard all the time. A leader that mentored us and kept us on a path moving forward and growing as a person. The great coach Tom Landry is today's motivational quote and topic. He was what the players called a players coach. He was kind of old school and was a true believer in following a set of values to lead the organization, team and individuals to bigger and better things. I personally can say that I do not always want to hear what they have to say, especially if it makes me think about where I am as a person, father, husband, teacher, coach and community worker.

Being challenged by the most important people around you and having successful people surround you drives goals, thoughts and preparation in life, work and play. I am blessed to have a few very good friends and coaches on my staff that add so much value to the team, organization, school and community. They keep me grounded, give me feedback and on track to become the best I can. As we get older and reach pinnacles in our career, family and other goals we can become complacent in how we work, attack and go after life. I am thankful to have people around me that push me, push my athletes and give so much for so little on rerun.

As a society we need more leaders that take us out of our comfort zone and into a challenge phase. At times being told by someone with more experience, knowledge or background becomes a test to our communication skills, adult skills and attitude. I personally am thankful for all the coaches I have played or wrestled for and the ones I have coached with. Each brought a skill set that was different and I learned both how to do things right and how not to do things from them. Overall the good has far outweighed the bad and the feedback, guidance and leadership they offered is invaluable to me. With this being said I ask this question for you to ponder and think about.

1) Would you rather have a mentor, leader, friend, teacher, coach or spouse that is straight up, to the point and gives you feedback that makes you better or do you want someone to pamper your feelings with what you want to hear because it strokes your ego and allows you to avoid facing the truth about things.

Have a great day and I hope and pray the best for you and yours!