Each One Teach One

Mentoring Matters in Developing Leaders

“Everybody can be great…because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”– Martin Luther King Jr.

Leaders serve, leaders support, and leaders become mentors – these are three of the lessons Dr. Luff learned about leadership directly after college.

When he graduated from Northeastern University, he gave the commencement speech that changed the trajectory of his life. He shared his personal story of overcoming homelessness and hardship, with his single mother working tirelessly as a housekeeper and giving all she had so that he could get into college. Dr. Luff’s emotionally moving speech gave his story national exposure and an invitation to the White House from President Bill Clinton.

Upon his return from the White House, he got many calls with many requests after all of the press coverage, but one stood out in particular: Fred Davis. Fred was the only caller who did not want to use his success for his own benefit. Fred is also a graduate of Harvard Business School, the former president of the Freedom Trail Foundation. Although Fred has an impressive professional resume, it was his 40 years of experience as a husband, father, and grandfather that put Dr. Luff at ease. He asked him what he wanted to do with his future. He became the experienced guide that Dr. Luff needed to help navigate life with his newfound national recognition.

Still, he learned that not everyone would celebrate his success. Dr. Luff knew he needed to leave his job selling insurance under a manager who did not believe in him, failed to support him, and acted like she did not want him working for her. Working under poor leadership made him yearn for the opposite: good leadership makes people feel appreciated and valued. As a result, he consulted the networks he had built during his college years as an intern and searched for greater opportunities.

This search led him to City Year - an organization that “makes a significant impact in helping students stay on track to graduate on time” (CityYear.org). The mission and vision at City Year aligned with his own personal mission and values: “to work within the community helping the poor and other kids who grew up the way I did” (Watch Me Rise, 226). They empower young people to make a difference.

Notably, they had a strong leader in Nancy Routh, who became a mentor for Dr. Luff. She saw his talent and character and found the role that drew the best out of him. As good leaders do, Nancy provided Dr. Luff the opportunity to become better than he was.

Dr. Luff became a Team Leader where he supervised six young adults with a range of experiences and education, from those who were working on their GED to college graduates. Though Dr. Luff exuded enthusiasm and excitement, his team met him with apprehension, having gone without a consistent leader for the past four months. They wanted someone who would stay.

Jonah had come to be seen as the de facto team leader through the transitions of informal leadership. He was hesitant about Dr. Luff based on their previous leaders, and he wasn’t afraid to vocalize his concerns. Dr. Luff had only been leading the team two weeks when Jonah walked out. That night, Dr. Luff called Jonah. It wasn’t easy. Despite feeling uncomfortable about the confrontation, they needed to work together to make progress. The call pushed both of them to become better, and the result was that Dr. Luff earned Jonah’s respect and trust.

Being in a leadership position is one thing, but doing the hard work of leading is another thing entirely. Dr. Luff’s words had an impact. As a result, the team went on to make a real difference in their city. They served as tutors, mentors, and recreational aides at a community center. They held and comforted babies of high-risk mothers in the pre-natal unit, and served where they were needed throughout the hospital. The work they did matter and the benefit was mutual. The city benefitted as a result of their service, which in turn made way for their own personal growth and self-discovery.

With two hours for lunch and travel time between sites each day, Dr. Luff got to know each of his team members. It may have been easier to disengage, but building relationships with an enthusiastic spirit is an important aspect of strong leadership. He wasn’t just showing up for a job, he was showing up with a purpose. Instead of an inconvenience, he saw an opportunity. It is all about perspective.

Building relationships requires building trust. Dr. Luff earned their trust by showing up for them every day, investing in their lives, offering space for self-reflection, listening intentionally, and consistently doing what he said he was going to do. When he was met with skepticism and uncertainty, he responded with poise and confidence. He adjusted his mindset: instead of “That’s impossible…” he thought, “Why shouldn’t it be me?” In fact, the relationships he built impressed his supervisor so much that he was the only choice to become a camp director. Dr. Luff would go from leading a team of six to leading a department of sixty people!

Naturally, doubt crept in. He found resolution with a phone call to Jonah – the same team member who almost walked out in Dr. Luff’s second week on the job. It was Jonah who reassured him that he had the support of a team that believed in him, and that was what helped restore Dr. Luff’s confidence.

After camp director, Nancy continued to mentor Dr. Luff and promoted him to Head of Recruitment for City Year in Boston. Each little success added up: leaving his first job under a toxic manager, being open to receiving guidance from Fred Davis, building trust with Jonah and the City Year team, saying yes to bigger opportunities with Nancy’s mentorship. Individually, each step does not seem like much; together, they developed a leader that made an impact in the lives of others. Together, they inspired Dr. Luff to pursue an advanced degree at Harvard.

A leader has a presence that makes your dreams feel within reach. A leader finds potential in people and develops that potential. That’s what Fred and Nancy did for Dr. Luff, and that is what he has been doing for others ever since.

Would you like a mentor? As you’ve read, Dr. Luff has had more than one mentor that has helped him reach success faster than he ever would have on his own. It is smart to seek help; you don’t have to do it all by yourself. If you are serious about taking the next step, then Dr. Luff wants to talk to you personally about getting incredible results.

Wonder how an experienced leader who is fully invested in you could make a difference in your life? In the comment section share the name of a mentor(s) that made a difference in your life.

Link up with Dr. Luff to explore the possibilities.

Doug "Dr. Luff" Luffborough, III, Ph.D. Managing Director with MeTEOR Education, Former School Board President and Trustee with the Chula Vista Elementary School District, Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Point Loma Nazarene University, and the author of Watch Me Rise: From the Streets of Despair to the Halls of the Ivy League