Get A Mentor / Be A Mentor

As my day was getting started yesterday (Monday, 4/26/21), I got the distressing news that my mentor & friend Daniel Brandel had been killed in a car crash in Malawi, Africa. Sadness rushed in… Some regrets… Then, the happy memories.

But, the overwhelming thoughts over these past two days have been about the impact he’s had on my life. I met him as a 19-year-old who had just gone through one of the lowest points of my life up to that point: Losing my basketball eligibility because of grades during my Freshman year of college. Into my life walked a 32-year-old man with a crooked smile, a twinkle in his eyes, and a Faith that seemed unwavering.

He was the new Athletic Director at the high school where I had graduated and, little did I know when I inquired about “helping out around the Athletic Office, maybe help with coaching” – I was in for the ride of, quite literally, my life.

10 Leadership Skills/Truths taught to me by Dan Brandel, in no particular order:

1.     “Why not?” So many Leaders get twisted around by playing devil’s advocate… Daniel was the first to teach me to ask this first, instead of focusing on the whiny “why?”.

2.     “Why not *us* (or *me*)?” Slightly different than the first, this is a more specific challenge. Example: Back in the day, the Detroit Pistons hosted HS teams to come in & play preliminary games before their Home Games. Even though the school we worked for was TINY, Dan got Flint Christian on the schedule… And I got to go along for the ride.

3.     Surround yourself with good people. Daniel was made of flesh & blood like everyone else, complete with quirks & flaws; so, there may have been a tendency for him to want to do everything. But, he showed skill at lining people up in positions where they could excel, give them everything in his power for them to succeed, then turn them loose.

4.     Visionaries are rarely good people managers. If having vision was Dan’s superpower, his kryptonite was trying to control too much. As he & I kept up through the years, I noticed that he had developed that ability to be more consistent in “holding on loosely”.

5.     Find language. In my personal experience, in reading the testimonials, in seeing the dozens of pictures over the last couple of days… It’s obvious: Dan communicated well with all sorts of people – All ages, all shapes & sizes, all races, all socio-economic groups. Instead of expecting people to bend to him, he bent to them.

6.     Build your system around the talent you’re surrounded with. To piggy-back off my last point, Daniel was skilled at going with the hand he was dealt, rather than forcing his players/direct reports/whatever to abide by his system.

7.     Have fun. Dan had a great sense of humor and loved to laugh, almost in spite of himself. Sometimes I could see the gears turning, him obsessing over his latest thought or “invention”; but, he would then make a joke, almost as an act of defiance – That he wasn’t going to become so single-minded that he was not going to be much fun for anyone else to be around.

8.     Make sure your worldview and your work-view line up. Again, Dan wasn’t perfect, but he is the one who taught me that there is no compartmentalizing, no dichotomizing: Walk the walk and talk the talk, whether it’s in your personal belief system, your worklife, your activities… Anything. It’s a lot easier to live your life knowing that you’re essentially the same person, no matter your station.

9.     Mentors take it seriously. In my younger years, when we worked closely, Dan would do the teach/show/observe/plug-in method of mentoring. When we had miles between us, he’d find ways to re-connect on joint projects. As we both got older/busier, invariably it was him who took the initiative to keep in touch.

10.  Passion is the key. Dan Brandel died in his beloved Africa, the continent where he was born, a son to missionary parents. He died on a missions trip for Sports Ambassadors, an organization for whom he had worked with for the last eight or so years of his life: Coaching international players, leading coaches’ clinics, generally connecting with people for a Higher Purpose. Dan was willing to die for his passion, which happened to be his work:

Am I willing to die for my work?

Are you?