Book Notes

I had the chance to download for free a chapter of Tony Dungy’s book, “The Mentor Leader.” Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this 1st chapter...

“The key to becoming a mentor leader is learning how to put other people first.”

“A life spent focused on things of the world will not add value to the lives of others.”

“By influencing another person, we lead that person. Leadership is not dependent on a formal position or role. We can find opportunities for leadership wherever we go.”

“…simple ‘being in charge’ is not evidence of leadership or leadership ability.”

“Mentor leaders understand that if we lose sight of people, we lose sight of the very purpose of leadership.”

“One’s position, or status, can supply part of the equation, bit that is only a piece. In fact, many of the most effective leaders I’ve seen do not have positional authority over the people they lead. In my experience, some of the best examples of mentor leadership come from men and women whose influence extends to people who are not their subordinates.”

“Mentor leadership focuses on relationships and positive influence because success in temporal things can be so fleeting.”

“Mentor leadership focuses on building people up, building significance into their lives, and building leaders for the next generation.”

“Leadership based on building significance into the lives of others is much more energizing in the long term that other types of leadership.”

“…70% of the men in prison today grew up without a father figure in their lives.”

“Boys and girls without a father at home are five times more likely to end up in poverty and much more likely to make decisions that will negatively affect their lives far into the future, including criminal behavior, drug use, and teen pregnancy.”

“Mentor leaders tend to lean toward long-term results. They are involved in the present, but are willing to defer immediate gratification in order to build value and structure into people’s lives, creating a culture based on something more than wins and losses. It takes time to build mentor relationships.”

“The difficulty for most people is that maintaining a long-term perspective requires faith.”