by KAREN WHITING in Leading Hearts magazine
I IMPROVE WHEN I LISTEN AND APPLY THE WISDOM OF OTHERS. This includes God, my peers, mentors, friends and loved ones.
It’s been especially important in my writing and speaking to let others help me sharpen my skills and keep me accountable in my walk. It’s putting “iron sharpens iron” into practice.
Schedule times to be together and set time limits. Come prepared with what you want to share or ask. Be ready to listen to each person’s needs.
• Encourage one another.
• Give advice with honesty and love.
• Pray for one another.
• Rejoice in one another’s success.
• Empathize over one another’s failures, setbacks and struggles.
• Trust that none of you want to hurt the other, so be open if something hurts your feelings and resolve any issues quickly. Invest Time in a Mastermind Group I joined an AWSA Mastermind group a few years ago that blesses me in countless ways. We:
• Share knowledge by answering questions.
• Trade-off providing training for everyone.• Share new tips.• Encourage one another.
• Promote one another to expand your networks and cross-promote.
• Challenge members to take new steps and think bigger.• Share opportunities you notice for a member.
• Know we can lean on one another as needed. Cherish Mentors Who Share from Experience When I started writing, God quickly sent a mentor my way. Since then I’ve mentored others with that godly woman as my role model.
• Listen and encourage the dreams of the mentee.
• Be honest enough to share changes that will help the mentee.
• Share wisdom and knowledge about the industry.• Review the person’s writing/speaking and guide her to overcome her pitfalls
.• Be real and share both your successes and failures.
• Know when it’s time to change the relationship to friendship. I’m a better person and professional because of these relationships.
When iron sharpens a knife, it also causes the blade to shine as the dullness is wiped off the service. For me, the shine starts in my heart as the people helping me love me and address any heart issues they see. They add to my ability with the advice, training, and opportunities shared.
