You have those moments where you wonder, is it worth it? Then you get to see the beginning of a life altering experience – the birth of a transformational leader! I met with a client the other day and listened to all that was being done. It was as though I was sitting there with a check list and she was touching on each and every point. That’s when I realized that it truly is worth it. To be able to help make a difference in someone’s life to this extent is time well spent!

I could hear the mentoring concepts in her thought process as she replayed the work that she had done with her team. She was engaging them and they were buying into where she wanted them to go. They were empowered to influence the direction of where they were going. She was also holding them accountable for where they wanted to go – as they had contributed to the road map that was going to shape their organization going forward.

The power that this experience had on the employees can only be imagined. To be engaged to that extent, empowered to assist in the decision making process and better yet even make some of the decisions and then be held accountable was fueling their passion to continue to improve the work place and the culture. These are Generation “Y” employees we are talking about!!!!! This is the environment that they thrive on. This is an environment that will keep the good employees for a long time.

On the flip side, imagine this same scenario with a different style of leadership. Imagine chastising employees for speaking out – your job is to not ask questions but to carry out my wishes. How long do you think you will keep good staff around in an environment like that? The days of the dictator are gone – but we still have the odd one hanging around. They will slowly be pushed out the door but will have caused a lot of pain in the meantime. Employees will be looking for a new environment that is more conducive to the engaged, empowered and accountable employee work place.

A telling leadership style is not creating the work environment that most people want in our current work places. They are looking for challenges and the opportunity to be challenged. They want to be able to develop their critical thinking skills. They want to be the future leaders of tomorrow. They won’t be able to do that if we continue in the manner in which we lead today.

I am so proud of the work that is being done by my client. She has embraced mentoring and the transformational leadership style and continues to learn as she goes along. She knows that mentoring is a two way process and as such she is very open to listen and hear what others have to say.

It’s now my turn to sit there with the check list of traits of a transformation leader as I listen to her talk. Check, check, check! All of this enabled through the “power of mentoring!”