Scott Jeffrey Miller, Senior Advisor, Thought Leadership FranklinCovey

MaaS: Need a mentor? Why not 30 of them?

Finding the right mentor for the year ahead is a goal many have—but find difficult to achieve. What if you had access, or at least insights, from thirty of them that could help you now. That is the goal of Scott Miller’s Master Mentor ten book series—bringing the best coaching/mentoring tips to the rest of us. Get it, you will love it!

Pivoting When Needed

Scott’s journey involved a major reboot several years ago when he was at Disney Development Corporation and worked on the town of celebration – sort of the precursor to Epcot. Getting fired from Disney paved the way for “the best reboot” of his life. A “silver lining” as he calls it, “my biggest lesson is to look for what’s now the lesson for me to learn, that I don’t repeat. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it. As I’ve matured, I’m much more in control of my reaction to things that I can’t completely control, or can no longer control it. Then I just move on.”

Evolution of “Master Mentors” as a series

Revealing his vulnerability to his readers and audience in general has been Miller’s way of building his brand. “I think my ability to be relatable has built up a following and a brand for me.” From his interactions with best selling authors, C suite executives, “titans who have survived a trauma and can teach us what to learn from that” , a book series on mentorship came about sharing “those golden nuggets” so readers can benefit from and elevate their personal mindset, life skills and career toolset. A ten year, ten book deal with Harper Collins, Master Mentors highlights thirty transformative insights from the greatest minds that have been with him on Franklin Covey’s On Leadership podcast.

“I don’t believe that mentoring only has to be in a company where you’re matched as a mentee with somebody on the executive suite for seven Fridays in a row. And I don’t think everyone has to be a formal mentor, to be a mentor in your life. That’s what this series is about, exposing a broader audience to amazing people that have written amazing books or just had amazing experiences and really turning the spotlight on them.”

Shadow Mentors and Mentee as Drivers  

The days of formal mentoring are perhaps diminishing post pandemic world and this brings about a new facet to mentor-mentee relationships. Whether it’s a formal mentor, a middle ground like shadow mentors where you haven’t asked the person to formally mentor you, or in the far end of the spectrum where you are being mentored by someone you don’t even know, the bottom line is what one wants to accomplish. “What do you want to learn and do? And then surround yourself formally, informally with a variety of mentors throughout your entire life. I don’t know anybody, that’s had any modicum of success, that has done it without some mentorship. It is a key component to success in life.” The emphasis on mentee being the drivers, having a goal and sort of dictate, rather than mentors setting agendas is a remarkable aspect given every mentee is not an exact replica of their mentor.

“We are used to making decisions, setting the agenda and leading conversations. We are also used to imprinting our mentee with our formula for success. I think the biggest mistake mentors make is, when they say ‘well if I was you’- no, you’re not them. You are never going to be them as a mentor. Your job is to listen, absorb. It’s to determine- has anything on your journey proven to be replicable for their journey, which is why I think the mentee needs to lead the conversation. They need to be clear about what they’re trying to accomplish; and how can the wisdom of the journey of the mentor help ignite the genius In their journey?”

For anyone facing a crucial life or career decision, the wisdom of experts like Marie Forleo, Sean Covey, Bobby Herrera and several more, organized into concise chapters in the book, should make it easy on your time and the challenge in question. “Vulnerability is a leadership competency in 2022 and beyond, just like reading a P&L or working through an acquisition”. Discussing failures, or “who made you feel seen; who will re-board the bus for you” just like in the Bobby Herrera story are great nuggets from this second volume of the series.

For me, the biggest takeaways from this conversation were, “Who recognizes your struggle in order to help you with it” and “what fears do you have, so you can meet them where they are”. Literally being honest about stuff, helping the next generation be really better, not withholding so much – – but sharing, are aspects not prevalent in society much but ones that could use a sea change. It’s an “intentionally episodic book”, as Scott calls it, writing “about the difference between self confidence, self esteem and self worth” and meant to serve as a blueprint for “personal, professional and hardcore business stuff”.