GUEST BLOG - ARTHUR LAWLOR - STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS
This next article is written by current Collaborate Sports group mentee, Arthur Lawlor.
I have loved working with Arthur across the programme, and his curiosity and willingness to explore all options for his own growth are exemplary. As both a physical prep coach and sports coach, Arthur joined the group mentorship to learn from others in other environments, and has added immense value to this group. Arthur currently resides in Dubai working with youth athletes in the school system and does an excellent job here of summarising the impact of mentorship in our personal growth. Enjoy the read, its a good one!
In today’s culture, we romanticise the pursuit of success, chasing the grind and going it alone while breaking new ground. These things sound poetic in their pursuit however are naïve in their conception as seldom do you achieve success & break new ground, alone or by burning yourself into the ground.
“As an aspirational practitioner fresh out of university I felt like the world was mine to conquer. Armed with an undergraduate degree, practical experience and access to a wealth of knowledge in the form of articles, books, and podcasts, what couldn’t I achieve?”
Well, it turns out that in the first few years of my practitioner journey I only achieved a constant humbling and reality check of how little I knew! When I started to collaborate with other practitioners I began to identify the gaps in my knowledge not just scientifically but in areas such as; management, interpersonal skills, communication, networking etc. Additionally, my role continuously presented a new set of challenges I hadn’t faced before leaving me thinking I was an imposter in the field being so ill-prepared for what lay ahead of me.
The solution, as a young practitioner without a wealth of prior experience, is to sift through large volumes of resources available online in the hope to find information that can apply to your environment. While this solution can be effective it can often turn out multiple results and often you find out too late if you came to the wrong conclusion.
“However, there is a far simpler solution to prevent yourself from heading into the unknown without any experience! Learning from others who have been before you….”
Along my practitioner journey to date, I have experienced;
- The summit of stupid, post-university
- Valley of despair within my first full-time roles
- The slope of enlightenment once I reached out for mentorship
- Plateau of sustainability now I have a support network of mentors around me
Throughout history, individuals have sought mentors/ teachers to aid them in their lives. The most notorious is Marcus Aurelius, who in his notes “Mediations”, reflects on key figures within his life and what he has learnt from each of them. The man who led the largest empire in the world at the time could have easily succumbed to his ego and believed he knew everything necessary to rule Instead, he sought to learn from others in the pursuit to rule as effectively as possible. I find that upon reflection, I can identify 5 types of influential mentors during my practitioner journey to date:
1 - The Master Craftsman
This type of mentor is an individual who has been within the industry for a large period and has experienced everything there is to experience. They have seen new experimental techniques, methods and fads come and go, enabling them to filter through the large volume of information, deciding what is a valuable addition to their well-established values, methods and practices.
In my own experience having an individual available to you with this wealth of knowledge provides a never-ending opportunity to learn from their previous experiences and enables you to develop the skillset to manage any new challenging situation such as; a difficult conversation, a slump in performance from an individual or a worldwide pandemic with confidence.
“From this mentor, I learned the ability to change the hats you wear in your delivery to meet the needs of the individuals you are working with. Initially, I thought my role as a practitioner was to solely improve an individual’s performance but at times the role requires you to be much more than the prescription of tasks and exercises.”
The individuals you work with will face their own challenges and they will look to you as the teacher, the voice of reason, the soundboard, or the disciplinarian to guide the way. Only from asking my mentor about her previous experiences did I gain confidence in providing support within the more holistic areas of delivery required when working with individuals.
2 - The Disruptor
Some of the best advice I received was to work with someone different to your way of thinking. Working with people that share a similar philosophy as you is a comfortable experience, as thinking processes often work in unison and are rarely challenged.
“Having a mentor who is a disruptor to your systems (opposite to you in thinking and practice), results in you being actively challenged in your thought processes, ensuring there is the justification behind your reasoning rather than falling into the thinking I’ve always done it this way so it must be right (you don’t want to be surrounded by “yes” men).”
This mentor helps you fill the gaps on how to work outside of your behavioural norms adding an extra perspective when approaching tasks and working with new groups unfamiliar to you. In my own experience. I didn’t appreciate this type of mentor enough until I stopped being challenged and having those long constructive conversations that lead to a new viewpoint.
This mentor made me reach way beyond my comfort zone regularly and I am forever grateful for it. He regularly challenged the norms in the pursuit of reaching higher levels of performance. At times it was intense but from it, I understood that it is perfectly ok to disagree about things as long as you can actively listen to opposing views and use the information shared to revaluate your own.
3 - The Database
This mentor is someone far smarter than you, not due to their ability to read research and interpret data but because they can integrate data within their environment extremely successfully. All of us have a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips online but without being able to understand the application to our environment it is just wasted information. Understanding the gaps in my abilities, this is a mentor I needed most at times to develop the skill of taking complex ideas and simplifying them to a form which can be digested by those I work with (staff/ athletes/ pupils).
“Post education I felt I had a strong foundation of knowledge which I looked to build upon with regular reading however I struggled to translate this knowledge into practice. It was only until this mentor got me to identify my guiding principles that it became easier to establish my methods to create impact within my environment.”
A mentor that has established experience with people, processes and systems that I could learn from has seen me make vast leaps in my professional career in the previous months but this is a mentor I had to actively seek out to improve a direct area of weakness in my practice.
4 - The Constant
Jobs change, and roles come and go but this mentor is a constant throughout your life. Often a friend in another field, this mentor provides an opportunity to discuss things beyond work and provides an external view of a life beyond your profession. Having a constant in my experience provides a crucial support network and outlet when work or life can be a bit overwhelming. Working as a practitioner can feel like the world is against you at times but you do not need to go it alone! Have someone who is a constant.
“This mentor was invaluable when I approached a crossroads in my career. As practitioners, we lose sight that there is more to life than working for a badge, institution etc. This is where having a voice from an external view is an invaluable tool to provide perspective.”
I had a decision to make regarding what direction I wanted to take and during this time I had regular conversations with this mentor as they provided a different perspective on work-life balance beyond the practitioner world.
5 - The Unexpected
The last mentor is one I only experienced fairly recently and as the title suggests it is an unexpected one. The unexpected mentor is someone whom you coach or teach that provides you with an opportunity to learn something new. As a practitioner, you can develop a sore neck always looking up to someone to learn from but if you actively listen you will find that you can learn from those you work with daily.
“Every so often you work with an individual that provides a real perspective on what you value in life. I recently had an interaction which made me realise I get worked up and complain about menial things when I have more than most. Be grateful for what you have, careful in your assumptions and open to redefining your preconceptions.”
Summary
Having mentors within your life provides a support network of individuals to help guide you as you navigate your way along your practitioner journey. While each individual’s path is different in respective of their goals, having mentors to provide wisdom and support along the way.
This blog is titled “standing on the shoulders of giants” for the very fact we may think that it is due to our individual efforts that we achieve great things but in reality, it is by learning from the wisdom of those before us that enable us to achieve great things. I hope reading this you can either recall key mentors within your journey to date or have identified the need to seek out a mentor in an area that is lacking.
*N.B - I have been fortunate enough to have brilliant mentors within my life to date and know that without them I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. I will be forever grateful for the lessons learnt.
If you are seeking mentorship or support, the Group Mentorship programmes that Arthur has been a part of, commence on the 26th June and the 3rd July. If you would like targeted support in principles of S&C or Soft Skill Application to improve your effectiveness, why not click the link below to read more!