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Excerpt
This is a reverse-guesting episode where I was interviewed about my story in starting up SEO Hacker as the leading SEO Services company in the Philippines.
How do you mentor leaders? How do you cultivate the talent? How do you see this in people?
The first thing that you should do is to qualify them. There are people who want to be leaders because of compensation or recognition.
Most, if not all people want more of these, but not everyone wants to serve other people.
Leaders are called to serve. If you don’t want to serve, then don’t step up to be a leader. It’s not your calling.
You cannot just serve without ambition. You have to have a healthy amount of ambition to rise up.
Serving and having ambition are the qualifications to become a leader.
I do it differently from most people. Some would want them to go to seminars, some want them to work hands-on.
I focus on discipleship. I bring the person along with me in my meetings, trips, and talks to spend more time with them. That way, they see who I really am.
I do this because you can’t follow a leader when you don’t know them personally.
When you only know a person professionally only and you don’t know what he’s like outside of work, then it will be difficult to follow him as a leader.
Why?
Because you don’t have a holistic approach. For someone to follow you, they have to know if you’re a person of integrity.
Once I have a relationship with a potential leader, they’ve seen my integrity, it will be easier for me to pass on my leadership knowledge to them.
They will accept and believe what I say, thus, they will practice it more. That’s all I need to see.
Leadership cannot really be taught in theory. It has to be lived out and practiced. How your people will be doing it is how you do it.
One of the things that made me realize this is Jesus. He never really taught his 12 disciples every day. They were just there as he taught the masses.
They did everything together. But it was never said that Jesus taught them. He would teach the masses, feed the masses, heal the sick, and the disciples will just be there with him.
That’s how I prefer to do it. Teaching things to someone is not enough if they don’t see you doing it. They won’t absorb it enough.
At the same time, you, as a leader, should always be learning something new. You’re not going to be worth following if you’re lagging behind. You have to stay in front.
I find time to read books and listen to podcasts pretty much every day, I meditate, and I read God’s word pretty much every day. These are the things that I do to grow at least intellectually and spiritually as a leader.
It might sound like a lot of work especially to entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It is for the people who have certain characteristics that embody the qualities of a great and sacrificial leader.
What are some recommended resources that you would have as a leader?
One of the best podcasts that I listen to as an entrepreneur is the Entreleadership podcast by Dave Ramsey.
You can also lead to John Maxwell’s podcast.
I also read a lot of books. Right now, I’m reading Principles by Ray Dalio.
I read very slowly, contrary to what other people think. But what I read and learn, I immediately apply to myself and my team.