The Meeting

The following Saturday, Debbie’s husband, John, invited her to play tennis with friends, but she bowed out so that she could work on the mentorship application.

“Thanks for the invite, honey, but I don’t want to miss the Monday deadline on this paperwork,” she said. The application contained all the usual demographic questions but didn’t stop there. There were quite a few personal questions and several unexpectedly challenging ones about why she wanted to be in the program. The final question was the one that made her really stop and think.

What is a leader?

Debbie suspected that a good answer to this simple, straightforward question would help her get into the program. She worked for quite some time trying to articulate her reply. She felt she should know the answer because being a leader had long been her primary career objective. Yet she had never given the meaning of leadership much thought. Her first few attempts were, by her own standards, awkward or simplistic:

A leader is the person in charge.

A leader is the person in the position that others report to.

A leader is a person who makes things happen.

Although Debbie believed there was truth in each of these, she was not satisfied. She had an uneasy feeling that there was a correct answer, but she didn’t have a clue what it was. It was the same feeling she’d had when it first occurred to her that she might actually be part of her team’s performance problems. Nonetheless, it was getting late, and the application needed to be submitted the next morning. Still uncertain, she finally wrote these words:

A leader is a person in a position of authority who is responsible for the results of those under his or her direction.

Early Monday morning, Debbie headed straight to Human Resources with her application in hand. She was surprised but pleased to be greeted by the department director, Melissa Arnold.

“Hi, I’m Debbie Brewster, the director of corporate client services from the southeast sales region,” she said, extending a hand.

“Yes, Debbie. It’s good to see you again,” Melissa replied as she shook her hand. "I believe we met at the company picnic a couple of years ago. Do you and your husband still play golf?”

Debbie was amazed. She didn’t even remember the picnic from two years ago, let alone meeting Melissa there. How . . . no, why did she remember me or that John and I play golf? I don’t even know what my team members do when they’re not at work, much less remember their spouses' interests.

“You’ve got a good memory! Yes, we do still play, although not as much as we used to before I became a team leader. It seems as though I don’t have as much time these days.”

“What brings you to Human Resources so early on a Monday morning?” Melissa asked.

“I want to submit my application for the mentoring program,” Debbie explained.

“Great! Any particular area you’re needing help with?”

“No, I just think that at this point in my career, I could use a fresh set of eyes to look at my team’s performance.”

Melissa frowned. "Our program is not set up as a consulting arrangement. Its focus is more on the individual leader and your development. Maybe you need someone from our internal consulting division—”

“No,” Debbie interrupted. "I guess I could have stated it better. I need some help. My first year in leadership has been much more difficult than I thought it would be. I think a mentor could help.”

“Okay, we’ll process your application and see if we can find a good fit. You’ll get an e-mail in two weeks advising you whether you have been selected to participate in this phase of the program. If you’re in, we’ll let you know who your mentor will be.”

Debbie felt hopeful. "Sounds great. Thank you for your time.”

“My pleasure. I’m here to serve. Let me know if I can help in the future.”

How odd that she would say her role is to serve, Debbie thought as she left. For goodness sakes, she’s the head of Human Resources. Someone had better tell her that her role is to lead.

When Debbie got back to her office, she was immediately reminded of why she needed a mentor. She felt like a firefighter, running from one burning house to another. She knew she should probably be the fire chief calling out orders for her staff to execute, but she realized time and time again that she was the one fighting the fires. Often, her staff would simply bring her the burning issue and step back and let her take care of it. This was the reason why she had less time to play golf. She did her staff’s work during the day, and she did her own work on nights and weekends. It was clearly not a sustainable life.

The next two weeks passed in a blur as Debbie waited for word about the mentoring program. The actual situations changed, but it seemed her role never varied. The work—or the way she was going about it—was killing her. When she got home one night, exhausted and frustrated, John made a comment.

“Something’s wrong. What is it?” he asked.

Debbie sighed. "I’m just beginning to wonder if I’ve pursued the wrong dream. Maybe leadership isn’t for me.”

“You’re getting that mentor pretty soon, right?” Her husband put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“I hope so,” Debbie replied. Deep inside, she knew that her future would depend on it.

On the morning she expected word about the mentoring program, Debbie checked her e-mail. No message. She braced for a long, anxious day waiting for the message. But soon she was so involved in solving other people’s problems that she had no time to worry about the much-anticipated e-mail.

At lunchtime, Brenda, one of her team members, approached Debbie in the coffee room.

“Can I talk to you about a personal issue?” Brenda asked.

Debbie had noticed that Brenda’s performance had slipped somewhat in recent weeks, but she had not taken the time to find out why. She certainly didn’t have time now to talk about personal matters.

“I’m sorry, Brenda, maybe later. I’m busy right now.” It never crossed Debbie’s mind that Brenda’s performance and her personal problem could be related. Debbie went into her office and closed the door. As she scanned her new messages, she spotted an e-mail from Melissa. She opened it and read:

I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected to participate in Phase I of our new Mentoring Program. Your mentor will be Jeff Brown. Someone from Jeff’s office will contact you to schedule your first meeting. If you have questions, please let me know.

Debbie thought her heart had stopped. Surely there must be a mistake. Jeff Brown is the president of the company! There is no way he could be my mentor.

She picked up the phone and placed a call to Melissa Arnold’s office. Melissa’s assistant answered the phone.

“This is Todd. How may I serve you?”

“I’m calling for Melissa Arnold. Is she in?”

“No, I’m sorry, she’s at lunch right now. What can I do for you?”

“Nothing, really,” Debbie answered. "I’ve just been accepted in the new mentoring program, and there’s been a mistake regarding my mentor.”

“Let me check that for you. What is your name?”

“Debbie Brewster.”

“Yes, Debbie, I see your name. And your mentor is—” It felt like a week before Todd finished the sentence. "Jeff Brown.”

“That can’t be!” Debbie replied in disbelief.

“Why not?”

“He’s the president of the company!”

“That’s true,” Todd replied.

“Why would Jeff Brown take time to mentor me, or anybody else?” Debbie asked.

“When you have your first meeting, why don’t you ask him yourself?” Todd suggested.

“I think I will. Thank you for your help.”

“My pleasure.”

The next day Debbie could still hardly believe that her mentor was the president of the company. Midmorning she received a call from Mr. Brown’s assistant.

“Jeff is available on the 22nd in the morning and the 24th in the afternoon. If those times don’t work for you, we can go to the week of the 28th. What would work with your schedule? Jeff would like the first meeting to last about an hour, if possible,” she said.

Debbie was confused again. Why is she asking me when it would be convenient for me? Shouldn’t the president’s schedule take priority over mine?

Debbie timidly suggested, "How about the 28th?”

“Okay, what time? You choose. Eight, nine, ten, or eleven?”

“Nine sounds good.”

“Great. Jeff will see you on June 28 at 9:00 A.M. in his office.”

“Thank you, but I’ve got one more question,” Debbie added. "Can you send me any background information on Mr. Brown? I really don’t know much about him at all.”

“I’ll be glad to. You’ll get an e-mail later today.”

When the e-mail arrived, Debbie was impressed by the efficiency of Mr. Brown’s assistant—as well as by the depth of the information she provided. She learned that Mr. Brown was well educated and had a track record of successes at several other companies. He was involved in volunteer work when not preoccupied by company matters. Debbie also did her own Internet search and discovered that Mr. Brown had written several articles and spoken at numerous colleges and universities. His topic was always the same: leadership.

The night before Debbie’s first mentoring meeting, the dinner conversation at home revolved around only one topic.

“I feel like I should be more prepared,” Debbie said as she passed the rolls to her husband, John. "It’s a special opportunity to meet with the president of the company, and I want to maximize my time.”

“You might want to think about some questions you’d like to ask him,” John suggested.

“Questions about what?” asked Debbie.

“That’s what you need to decide. How many meetings do you get to have with him?”

“I don’t know. If he can solve my performance issues in one meeting, that will be fine with me.”

Her husband furrowed his brows. "If you could ask him just one question, what would it be?”

Debbie didn’t have an immediate answer.

“Well?” John prodded.

“If I could pose only one question, it would be this,” said Debbie. "‘Mr. Brown, what is the secret of great leaders?’”

The next morning Debbie arrived at Mr. Brown’s office a few minutes early.

“Come right in,” he said as he greeted her at the door.

“Thank you, Mr. Brown, for meeting with me.”

He smiled warmly. "Please, call me Jeff.”

“Okay, sir . . . um . . . Jeff,” Debbie stammered. "As I was saying, thank you for meeting with me today.”

“Please, have a seat,” Jeff offered.

Debbie pulled out the chair in front of his desk, but he redirected her to a chair in a small seating area on the other side of the room. He joined her there.

She couldn’t help but notice that although it was a nice office, it wasn’t very large, nor was it extravagantly furnished. She had expected something more stately for the president’s office. She did notice one thing that seemed a bit odd: he had a large whiteboard on the wall.

Jeff began the conversation. "I’m excited about our time together. I love working with young leaders.”

“I’m excited, too, but don’t you have more important things to do?” Debbie asked.

“I believe that developing leaders is our highest strategic priority as an organization. Everything rises and falls on leadership. If I don’t invest time in helping other leaders grow and develop, then the people I work with won’t see it as a priority, and they won’t invest the time, either. I believe we demonstrate our priorities with the way we allocate our resources— and that includes our time. So, I am delighted to have you as my first mentee in our new program.” Once again he gave her a warm smile.

“I think we should meet for an hour about every four to six weeks,” Jeff continued. "If we run out of things to say, we’ll finish early. If we think we need more time, we can work on the schedule together. Most of the time, we’ll conclude our sessions with a homework assignment.”

“Homework?” Debbie asked.

“Yes, sometimes I’ll have an activity for you and, other times, questions for you to consider between our meetings. For today, let’s get to know each other. I’ll begin by telling you a little about my background.”

Over the next twenty minutes, Debbie learned more about Jeff than all of her research had revealed. He was a fascinating, well-rounded person. "Now tell me about yourself,” said Jeff.

She began by telling him about her work over the previous five years at the company. He listened attentively as she talked. She determined very early on that he was a great listener. After a few minutes she wrapped it up. "And that’s pretty much all about me.”

“Thank you for sharing all of those things about your work,” Jeff said. "Now, tell me about your family and your interests outside work.”

“Outside work?” Debbie wasn’t sure why he wanted to know. "Well, I have a great husband who teaches ninth grade.”

“Terrific,” said Jeff.

“We don’t have kids of our own,” she added, heading off the next obvious question.

“What do you do for fun when you’re not taking care of our company’s client relations?” he asked.

“I used to be a competitive swimmer, although I haven’t been near a pool lately,” Debbie replied. She felt silly saying it and couldn’t imagine why the president of her company would care.

He asked several questions about her experience as a swimmer that made it seem as though he was genuinely interested. When Debbie finally finished, she said, "Is there anything else you’d like to know?”

“How do you think I can best serve you in the months ahead?” Jeff asked.

Debbie confessed that she was not quite sure. She described some of the challenges her team was experiencing. Again, he listened very carefully and even jotted down a few notes. After she did her best to summarize her situation, she asked, "What suggestions do you have?”

“I’m not sure I’ll have a lot of suggestions for you, Debbie. What I can promise you is that over the next few months, you’ll find the answers to many of your questions. And looking at the clock, we probably have time for only one more question today.”

“I understand. And I decided that if I could only ask one question, I knew what it would be.”

“And what’s that?” Jeff asked.

“What is the secret of great leaders?”

He smiled. "That’s an outstanding question—and a big one. I’m afraid that’s more than I want to tackle in the time we have remaining. How about we look at that next time? We’ll invest our time in several meetings to help you learn not only the secret of great leaders but how to apply it in your work—and in your life.”

Debbie was disappointed. She had hoped that Jeff would have a simple answer and that he could help solve her problem today. Yet she was intrigued by his promise to reveal the secret and glad that he seemed genuinely committed to helping her succeed as a leader.

She stood to go. "Thanks again for your time. I look forward to hearing more about the secret at our next meeting!”