Beyond Category: Supportive Mentors and Champions

This is a series describing each of the characteristics of people who are beyond category and achieve stellar performance.  Mentors and champions made a significant difference in the lives of people who are beyond category. But mentors and champions are supportive by definition. So what makes this different? Beyond category individuals mentioned they had multiple mentors and champions, people who inspired them, who believed in them and who helped them along their path to achieve stellar success.  

Where does it start? For many with their parents. Brandi Chastain, two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and FIFA Soccer champion said, “First and foremost, my parents are hugely responsible for my success. My mother worked in Silicon Valley as VP of big company. She had to be resilient enough to figure it out, and is a living example of how to be brave, courageous and awesome. She became a soccer mom, and my Dad became our coach when no one else wanted to. He rearranged his schedule so he could go to work early and coach after school. Example of what team means – synonymous with family and families take care of each other.”

Reginald Robinson, MacArthur Genius Grant winner also attributes supportive parents to his success. â€œAside from the inspiration I got from listening to the many great musical artists of the past, my parents encouraged me greatly. My father would always appear to be just okay with whatever new music works I composed and played for him but he never seemed fully satisfied with them. He always expressed to me that I should continue to work to get to that “master level “as he called it. This made me work harder and continue to stay focused. My mother encouraged me by occasionally coming to my room where my piano was and would ask me to play my latest works or whatever music I was intending to play in an upcoming concert.”

So parents could be our first champions. One thing my parents did for me was to take me, a budding tuba player, to the first International Tuba Symposium at Indiana University and attend the gala concert – 6 hours of glorious (to me) tuba performances. That’s dedication and support!   

You cannot overstate the value of parents, but others can play a big influence early on as well. For Harvard professor and famed author John Kotter, “Key players from my teens were educators.  Debate coach in high school, my homeroom teacher and school shows ensured I felt accepted and gave me self-confidence. This continued in college when a Labor Economist at Sloan allowed me to participate in a project doing interviews in North Carolina. I also worked for (famed psychologist) Ed Schein while going to school.”

Can you identify people who helped you early on and what you learned from them? What lessons did you learn from your parents, your teachers, Scout or youth group leaders and coaches?  

Once we get past school, we often find another partner that can play a significant role: our spouses. Ken Blanchard, author of One Minute Manager said “I gather positive people around me.  Married above me. Both of us went to Cornell.  I believe the best marriages are when the man (or spouse) thinks they married above themselves.”  

The right spouse can partner with us and push us harder. John Kotter said “My wife was a Harvard MBA and worked at Fidelity. She helped push things further in producing videos, speeches around the world, and utilizing new technologies.”  Jack Phillips, author and creator of ROI also credits his wife Patti. â€œI met Patti 25 years ago and she became part of the organization. She fell in love with the methodology and then fell in love with me.” Jack also talks about another major influence, having the right boss who believes in you. “When I got started at Lockheed, I talked to the Training Manager about better evaluations. I complained about it and got put in charge.”  

Reginald Robinson path was serendipitous.  â€œIn 1992 while attending a GED program. I discovered that some of the faculty and teachers there were musicians. One of the faculty members -McKinley Olsen - introduced me to pianist Jon Weber at the suggestion of their mutual friend Ira Sullivan. Jon was excited at my musical compositions and helped to jump start my professional music career by paying for studio recording time and for the manufacturing of a demo to sell. Jon arranged for my first concert at the Green Mill in Chicago. The following year I took the demo to Delmark Records owner Bob Koester at the suggestion of McKinley Olsen. I signed with Delmark that year to record three CDs. Upon the release of my first album “The Strong Man,” Koester contacted pianist Marian McPartland and told her about me and she invited me to perform on her nationally syndicated radio show “Piano Jazz.” Several years later in 1999 Marian arranged for me to fly out to Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York to record my newest works for two days and do a concert with her on the third and final day. It was the inaugural McPartland/ Eastman Jazz Series.”

Wherever you are in your career, think about who helped shape your career and life and what you learned from them. Feel free to express gratitude to them if you can. I just saw the movie “Spiderman: Far From Home” and even in this fictitious movie, Tony Stark believes in Peter Parker and passes his insights to him as a mentor.  And even though we’re not Ironman, think about who you can encourage, champion, mentor.  Be one to pass it on.  Number one executive coach and author Marshall Goldsmith, who recently formed the MG100 Coaches said it best. “A lot of it is karma – I didn’t expect anything back from giving.  How much do I get back? That’s tremendous.”