In today’s Leaderview, I want to address something that I believe is missing in most contemporary leadership, and I have titled it The Mentoring Side of Leadership. Every leader is expected to wear two caps. The first cap is the leader being a mentor. The second cap is the leader providing direction, which is of course, an integral part of what we do in leadership. Whether you are an organizational leader, a political leader, a family leader, or a spiritual leader, we must understand that our assignment demands that we provide mentorship and leadership.

But the unfortunate thing is that many leaders haven’t acclimatized themselves yet to the mentoring side of their leadership responsibility, and that is why we are considering this matter. A mentor, simply put, is an experienced and trusted adviser. So, this simply means that embedded in effective leadership is mentorship, and embedded in effective mentorship is providing leadership. Irrespective of the level or cadre of your leadership, your assignment is not complete if you are not providing mentorship, and this is the missing link in most contemporary leadership.

Now, let us examine a story in the Bible that is going to serve as a guide to what I am talking about. In Exodus 18:13-27, the Bible says:

“And so it was, on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood before Moses from morning until evening. ¹⁴ So when Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this thing that you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit, and all the people stand before you from morning until evening?” ¹⁵ And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God. ¹⁶ When they have a difficulty, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known the statutes of God and His laws.” ¹⁷ So Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “The thing that you do is not good. ¹⁸ Both you and these people who are with you will surely wear yourselves out. For this thing is too much for you; you are not able to perform it by yourself. ¹⁹ Listen now to my voice; I will give you counsel, and God will be with you: Stand before God for the people, so that you may bring the difficulties to God. ²⁰ And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do. ²¹ Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²² And let them judge the people at all times. Then it will be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they themselves shall judge. So, it will be easier for you, for they will bear the burden with you. ²³ If you do this thing, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all this people will also go to their place in peace.” ²⁴ So Moses heeded the voice of his father-in-law and did all that he had said. ²⁵ And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people: rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. ²⁶ So they judged the people at all times; the hard cases they brought to Moses, but they judged every small case themselves. ²⁷ Then Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way to his own land.”

There are two things we can see from that story. We can see mentorship, and we can see leadership. Moses had been leading the people before Jethro showed up, but he had been leading in a way and manner that was inimical to his life and his leadership. Jethro believed that if Moses had been allowed to continue in his leadership the way and manner in which he had been doing it, the man may not have lived long enough to have been able to complete his assignment. Moses would have probably died before his time. Moses was a good leader, but he was not an effective leader until Jethro provided the necessary mentorship that he required for his leadership.

Every leader who would be deemed successful and effective in leadership must be both a mentor and a leader at the same time. If we are also going to groom the successive generation of leaders that are coming after us, then we must be able to provide both leadership and mentorship at the same time. There is an example of this in the story of Jesus and His disciples. In Acts 4:13, the Bible says: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.”

Mentoring is the most important aspect of excellent leadership—it transforms others, and it transforms us the leader as well. If you are going to be an excellent leader and be successful in your endeavors, don’t wear just one of the caps. Wear the two. If you are a leader of a business organization, for example, don’t just lead the business, mentor your employees to the point that when they leave your organization, they can go and start their businesses and succeed at it. If you are a political leader, mentor the young generation of politicians coming after you. Influence them positively to bring about change in their nation.

In whatever sphere of leadership you find yourself in, don’t just lead. Mentor others as well. This is how to create a generational impact in the hearts and minds of the people that you are leading per time.

Thanks for the gift of your time, Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!
Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond as soon as possible!