Who's in Your Corner?

What do you do when you get a break in the action? 

Over the past month or so I have had four significant conversations with four individuals whom I all respect deeply. The conversations were deep and meaningful and brought refreshment, challenge and a new perspective to some area of my life. Some of these conversations were deeply personal while others were focused on my business and contribution. Every conversation left me buoyed and better than when I entered it. 

I got thinking about the people in these conversations, each similar but strikingly different. These gentlemen, as it happens, are all older than I am. I speak with each one only once in a while and they each come from very different walks of life. Each person participates and intersects with my life differently. We connect through our own unique shared experiences. Subsequently, they each see my life through a different lens. It’s as if they have all participated with me in different arenas. Each one cheers me on in life and business offering a listening ear and wisdom when needed. They are firmly in my corner. That got me thinking. 

I can imagine them as the coach waiting in the corner of the boxing ring, outside the ropes, waiting for the trip gong to sound signalling a break in the action. I see myself often stumbling to the small wooden stool in the corner, out of breath and bleeding waiting for the coach to bandage a wound, hand me a bottle of water and give me advice on how to handle that left cross that will be my knockout punch if I don’t learn to manage it. 

Life and business are like the boxing ring. We get off the stool every day and step into the ring not knowing what’s going to assail us. We all meet formidable adversaries in every area of our lives, be it work or business. And we all take our lickings. So what do you do when the bell rings and you get a short break from the action?

It would be crazy to stay standing in the centre of the ring, just waiting to be pummelled again. And it would be almost pointless to go sit alone, bleeding in the corner. No, we need someone in our corner. We need someone, who’s not in the fight, to wait for us and help us. 

I realize that these men I speak of are doing just that, but are likely unaware of it. They offer me three unique gifts, the three things a boxer’s coach will provide in every one minute break in the action. A good mentor will do the same for you. First, they dress your wounds. They listen to your war stories and offer salve and stitches to repair the damage. Then they refresh and nurture you. For the prize-fighter it’s a bottle of cold water, for you it might be encouragement, hope or just a place to sit down and rest outside the action. Lastly, they give you advice and guidance to make your next trip into the centre of the ring successful. They warn you of dangers you can’t see through swollen eyes and give you strategies to go on the attack.

So there’s a few lessons here for you. Are you taking a break from the action, or continually taking a beating until you're too tired to stand? Do you have someone in your corner, a coach who’s been in this particular arena before you, who’s older and wiser and lived to tell about it. Are you getting your wounds bandaged, your spirit refreshed and advice for the next round? 

Who’s your mentor? A former boss, a wise but older colleague, a professional coach? It doesn’t matter, they come in all shapes and disguises. But you’d do well to recognize them, acknowledge them and lean on them. It just may help you win the fight. 

Think about it.