"The why of ambition can be born in a moment. The decision to act, to reach, can be in response to an external crisis. Or, a fleeting idea can ignite you and point you toward something bigger than you are. The key is to be aware of what is going on both around you and inside you, staying open to opportunities to authentically express what you believe and who you are." - Stacey Abrams
When I first saw this book, I thought that it was going to be about a bunch of politics stuff, big fancy words and reasons why if I lived in Atlanta, I should probably vote for Stacey Abrams. Oh, was I wrong! This book had so many hidden gems on leadership that she was dropping on almost every single page.
As a leader, I am always searching for a mentor to help guide me along in my brand and business. I had been foolishly looking for one person to be all things for me and there will never be someone like that, ever. Now in this book, she provided readers with different types of mentorships that made my life and mind easier to figure out which type of mentorship could help me in a moment, season or lifetime. Since reading this chapter on mentorship, I have identified 3 out of 4 people who I can prayerfully have as my mentors. Here's a list of the types of mentorships she talks about in the book and her definition for each:
Types of Mentorships According to Stacey Abrams (Chapter 4)
The situational mentor - a person who serves a temporary role or has a specific function, like helping negotiate salary increases or promotions.
The sponsor mentor - a sponsor identifies opportunities that may escape our attention, vouches for our bona fides, and advises us on how to leverage the moment. When you're ready to move up the ladder or change careers, the sponsor can vouch for you.
The adviser mentor - someone interested and invested in your success but who has a deeper relationship, an advocate who looks out for your interests at a broader level.
The peer mentorship - come from those who are similarly situated but may know something you don't.
This was my favorite chapter in the book because it speaks more to the current state of where I am in my business: needing help to go to the next level. I've never been ashamed to ask for help, and all successful people have mentors to help them along the way.
She mentioned in the book that, "A great leader manages her finances also." having no money or bad credit is not cute. In this chapter she provides basic financial literacy to educate the reader and she provides resources for more in depth learning and guidance towards financial freedom. I never knew the importance of knowing the language of money, can put your environments that can position you into leadership roles eventually. It certainly makes sense after reading her perspectives about it. "A leader must be conversant in the basic architecture of finance." In any industry, you should always network and have a connection with the person or people in charge of the money.
I have now adopted this mantra into my life that she talks about in this book:
"Embrace the failure and figure out how to become better. A central tenet to success is to show up -- again and again -- to take an alternate approach, and keep at it until it works. And when we show up, act boldly, and practice the best ways to be wrong, we fail forward. No matter where we end up, we've grown from where we began." - Stacey Abrams
I can easily remember starting out as a blogger in 2010, with no prior understanding of how to blog and creating a website. I just did it. I figured it out along the way and I kept at it, until this day. I've failed at blogging by not writing my best at times, or creating content for months at a time to now faithfully creating better content with each week that passes. My brand and business has of coursed failed also. But I've learned as a minority leader, I have to keep showing up, in spite of my failures because I seek to make a change in the lives of others, daily.
This is definitely one of those, "don't judge a book by it's cover" reads because her serious demeanor on the cover, speaks nothing of her servitude to mankind and her wealth of knowledge in her political endeavors to her current leadership roles. It was cool to learn that outside of politics, she is a writer naturally. She is passionate about all things that affects our communities and her book, was definitely a manual for me moving forward to network with other ethnicities to bring about change on a higher level.
If you are interested in reading this book, you can purchase it here on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Minority-Leader-Lead-Outside-Change/dp/1250191297/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=minority+leader+book&qid=1552323418&s=books&sr=1-3
Comments