Mentoring has received a lot of attention in the corporate sector of late, and most have a pretty clear idea of what it entails – lending a hand, offering advice and encouragement, and helping others to learn from your mistakes.
But for Joe Keefe, president and CEO of Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Pax World Management and Pax Ellevate Management, nurturing isn’t nearly as effective as casting a critical eye.
“I like the idea of mentoring, but I have a somewhat contrarian view of the process. I always say that you learn more from your mistakes than you do from your successes, because when you have success, you don’t take a step back and think ‘Why?’ But when you make a mistake, failure is a great teacher. For that reason, I think negative mentoring – identifying people’s leadership problems and challenges – can often be more valuable.”
Click here for more of Keefe’s insights. Do you know of an outstanding executive with experience and insights to share? If you’d like to nominate someone for a WE Interview, please contact me via email at eck@kinlin.com .
