Mentors – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

A Kangaroo Wasn’t On The Bingo Card

The years have been just full of surprises for me, and a lot of fun. – Dick Van Dyke

Imagine driving along the interstate on your way to work, an important meeting, a ball game, or just trying to get home. Instead, you find yourself in a traffic jam. You are in this traffic jam, not because of a wreck, construction, or bad weather. The reason? A kangaroo!

This was the predicament that motorists in Tuskegee, Alabama, found themselves in recently when traffic snarled on Interstate 85. The sight of the free-spirited kangaroo hopping along the side of the interstate was certainly a sight to behold. State Troopers had to stop traffic in both directions to help the owner capture the wayward animal.

Being delayed in traffic on the interstate because of a kangaroo is not something any motorist in Alabama would have suspected they’d encounter when they got up that day. No doubt it would not have appeared on anyone’s bingo card.

In life, things will show up on your bingo card that you didn’t see coming or have any formal training on how to deal with.

When I began my leadership journey in ministry over 40 years ago, I was wide-eyed and woefully naive. Rather quickly, “kangaroos” started showing up on my bingo card that I was not prepared for, things that I didn’t think I would see in that line of work, and I didn’t have a leadership foundation to fall back on. My heart was in the right place, and my head was full of theology. But in those early days, it simply wasn’t enough. The kangaroos were winning the day.

Chances are, you’re feeling overwhelmed, too. You are dealing with things you didn’t see coming, and you feel out of your league. What is a leader to do? Allow me to take you back to foundational principles. As you work through these, you will gain more and more confidence as a leader. These are a great starting place.

Develop your growth plan.

If you want to develop as a leader, you need a growth plan. As John Maxwell says, “Hope is not a strategy.” Additionally, he says, “You cannot change your life until you change something you do everyday.” This, my friend, is where you begin.

Without a growth plan, you are like a runner wearing ankle weights. You become your own worst enemy, making things much harder on yourself. Personal growth should revolve around daily improvement, with the expectation that you will be better tomorrow than you are today. Click To Tweet

Additional Resource: Five Signs That Your Leadership Has a Settlers Mentality

Find a mentor or coach.

No one is meant to do life alone. As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another, says the writer of Proverbs. My frustrations in those early days could have been nullified if I had had a mentor to take me under their wing and help me navigate that bingo card.

With a mentor or coach, you have someone who is invested in your growth, who will hold you accountable, be your confidant, and your biggest cheerleader. Your mentor or coach will be a tremendous asset to you as a leader, and one day you can be the one passing along your wisdom to another.

Additional Resource: Leadership in a Word: Mentors

Humility and humor.

In my years in leadership, there’s a straightforward thing I’ve come to learn, and it’s this – the more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know. That’s humbling. That is what propels me to keep learning, reading, listening to podcasts, attending conferences, and networking, because the learning never ends.

Additionally, I’ve also come to appreciate having a good sense of humor. A sense of humor is what keeps you grounded and humble. Having the ability to laugh at yourself (might as well, others are), and realize that a perfect day can get interrupted by a kangaroo.

Additional Resource: Reclaiming Humility in Leadership

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Leadership In a Word: Mentors

Posted February 1, 2018April 30, 2025
by dougdickerson

Seek out counsel and be a mentor to people, because they learn how to be mentors. – Cathy Engelbert

Word study

: a friend of Odysseus entrusted with the education of Odysseus’ son Telemachus

2a : a trusted counselor or guide

a mentor who, because he is detached and disinterested, can hold up a mirror to us
—P. W. Keve

b : tutor, coach

The student sought a mentor in chemistry.
Source: Merriam-Webster

A word about mentors

Long before John Maxwell, Jim Collins, Andy Stanley, Simon Sinek, Patrick Lencioni, and many others who have inspired me on my leadership journey, there was Dr. Tom Wilson.

It was in Dr. Wilson’s organizational behavior and leadership class at Southeastern University more than thirty years ago that the flame and passion for leadership were ignited in me.

We bonded quickly and shared a passion for reading. We’d exchange books and talk about them. He was a challenging professor but caring. He inspired and prodded us to become our best and did it in a way that if he said we were going to charge hell with squirt guns, we’d all sign up and do it.

But most of all, he was a mentor. And for that, I will forever be grateful. With great sadness, I’ve learned of his recent passing. He will be remembered fondly and missed greatly.

As I reflect on what Dr. Wilson meant to me personally, I can’t help but think about the impact and importance that each of us has on the mentors in our lives. After more than thirty years removed from my classes and with a few gray hairs now, I am more intentional about the impact I can have on the lives of others.

In the Harvard Business Review, Jack Zenger addresses the critical need for leadership training at a younger age. His research shows that the average age of supervisors entering leadership training is 42. However, the average age of supervisors is 33. Simply put, we are waiting much too long to equip them with the leadership skills needed to succeed.

The simple truth is this – we need mentors who can impart their wisdom and knowledge onto us. As leaders, we never stop learning, and we must never stop growing. Mentors can speak truth into our lives and help us keep a healthy perspective.

My purpose – my why is about developing, inspiring, and mentoring as many leaders as I can. That passion, in large part, was because one professor cared enough to pour into the lives of his students in ways he probably never realized.

Thank you, Dr. Wilson, and Godspeed.

Mentoring quotes

“ The best way a mentor can prepare another leader is to expose him or her to other great people”. – John Maxwell

“Colleagues are a wonderful thing, but mentors, that’s where the real work gets done”. – Junot Diaz

“The delicate act of mentoring is someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”. – Steven Spielberg

“My best mentor is a mechanic- and he never left the sixth grade. By any competency measure, he doesn’t have it. But the perspective he brings to me and my life is, bar none, the most helpful.” – Brendon Burchard

A final word

Being a mentor is one of the greatest gifts you can give. Be it in your house of worship, community, company, or otherwise enriching the life of a child, mentoring is one of the greatest acts of leadership and service.

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Leadership Minute: Don’t Lose Your Way

Posted October 26, 2014
by admin

Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances. – Proverbs 11:14, The Message

Have you ever been lost? When you lose your sense of direction it can be frustrating and time consuming. Good directions are essential to reaching your desired destination. As a leader it’s important to have good directions. You have people who rely on you and look to you for assurances that you know the way. One of the best things you can do for yourself as a leader is to get wise counsel. That’s right; ask for directions! There is so much you can learn from mentors and other role models who can speak truth into your life and keep you grounded. The easiest way to lose your way is to think you can do it alone. But when you are willing to humble yourself and learn from others, the better your chances are for success. What have you learned today?

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Leadership Minute: Who’s Your Mentor?

Posted March 19, 2014
by admin

Because mentors see our potential, they believe in us and help us believe in ourselves. – Joe Land, (Lessons from a Dream Maker)

An essential component of your growth and development as a leader is to have mentors. Mentors can give wise counsel, encouragement, correction, and affirmation while being an invaluable resource in your life. The truth is, leaders never stop learning and growing. When you get to a place where you think you know it all then you are in a dangerous place. One absolute truth I’ve learned in leadership over the years is this: the more I learn the more I realize how much I don’t know. When you surround yourself with mentors you can draw from their knowledge and experiences and apply them to your own life. The secret to your growth as a leader is to never stop being a student.

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