Five People We Need

Coach: helps the team members personally and collectively to develop, flourish, work through issues, develop stamina, maintain order, stay on task, setting pace, marking out clear goals, preparing for “the game”, assessing progress, correcting, and redirecting.  The coach comes to work with the player every day, sharpens their own understanding of the game, studies the conditions, strategizes to identify strengths, latent potential, cultivate and maintain productive disciplines, identify, and root out unproductive activity and practices, optimize output and preserve the whole team, building consistency and sustainability.  Find a full-hearted coach and you’ve found a person of great faith, who sees the world – with you in it – as it was designed and created to be.

Guide: reveals and reminds others of the direction they are to go.  They are there in our lives to point towards a specific destination (sometimes away from the ‘wrong way’).  They know the way and are resolute in showing others how to navigate forward.  The way, for the guide, is not negotiable.  The way is the way and the guide helps us find it.  Find a generous hearted guide and you’ve found someone you’ll never forget and for whom you’ll be eternally grateful.

Mentor:  available/accessible fellow-member, engaged with the team (or the endeavor) or previously engaged in same, willing to share wisdom, lessons, technique and tools  from their journey.  Find a hope-filled mentor and you’ve found someone who ignites in you the capacity to dream and envision beyond what you’d imagined possible.

Instructors:  Those who teach and explain “how to do” and “why it matters”.  Consistent in their own study, committed to being principle-forward teachers.  Curious and careful with their explorations, wise and discerning.  Find a truth-telling instructor and you’ve found someone who unlocks and unblocks the limiting beliefs, depositing truth that will invite you to a life of limitless pursuit.

Peers:  Those committed and alongside you to the chosen end, a fellow player in the same arena with shared goals and resolve to meet them personally and collectively.  Find and be a great friend along the way. 

I spent the morning mulling over distinctives in these areas.  Having greatness available to us in these five areas is what optimizes culture, be it a family culture, work culture, city, state or country.  We do not flourish in life without these five critical elements.  God’s creative design for humanity includes these key roles to be present.

We must regularly assess if we are, in fact, receiving the benefits and cohesion from them.  Some folks subscribe to a belief that we ought to be able to muster up a sufficient amount of personal gumption to be able to function in life without needing much help.  Of course, that is about as silly as watching some middle aged man try to teach himself how to play golf just because it looked fun while watching The Masters on TV one year and, as – of course – he was a pretty decent athlete back in high school…

But it’s equally silly to take on a role at work without the wisdom to seek out (eg.) great peers to glean from and work alongside. 

My goodness how I cringe when I see movies where the scene involves an almost cannibalistic culture in the work setting, when the team members seem to tolerate one another but would devour anyone who gets in their way.  Or when the organization is built around some larger-than-life persona who – at least in the movie – anyone could see is psychotic, yet the group follows blindly because of this or that shiny ‘thing’ they get for being in his/her group.

I’m committed to growing and flourishing in my life.  I want to be a blessing for my family, for my team and company, for the other groups I’m part of.  It’s a safe bet, and one I’d make in a heartbeat, that you want that too.  Friends, we simply must maintain steadfast commitment to find and foster connectivity with all five of these types of folks. Coaches, guides, mentors, instructors and peers.  We need these people – and we need to grow as we become these people for others.  *Honestly, I got a bit lax in a few areas and am working to build back into those.  I’m already noticing a difference.

I want to encourage you today – don’t assume help just comes along and finds you like a feather floating down on Forrest Gump’s lap.  We go seek this out.  We go seek and then we find.  We knock and find that doors open.  And we mustn’t be fooled (or fool ourselves) into believing that our Creator God is too busy, indifferent, or invisible from our existence to ask directly.  If we lack wisdom, he gives it liberally.  I know it’s hard for some to believe that, but I have found Him faithful to help me when I’ve been humble enough to ask, patient enough to wait and willing enough to follow.

The help we need is nearer than we imagined.  Flourishing is tied to the courage needed to ask, to seek, to knock.  Those we need will be right and ready to get to work with us as we do.  Don’t go it alone, my friend.  Pursue your flourishing and designed future.  Ask – seek – knock.

Peace over you and your household today~

Craig

craig@r12coaching.com

I am always willing to chat through my note(s) with anyone who’d like to.  If you’d like to schedule a call, just email me and we’ll get that going.  If you’re wondering if you should ask…go read the note again.