Saturday, December 12, 2015

"Gratitude For Your Mentors" by Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM

When did you last thank your mentors for helping you reach your goals or dreams?

Throughout your life you will have teachers, coaches, friends, family members, and bosses who inspire and motivate you to reach your goals.

Go back in time to your first school days. Who was your favorite teacher? Why?

My favorite teacher was Mr. William Whitson. He was a tall handsome young man with twinkling eyes and a big smile. He taught me to play the violin when I was 8 years old. He encouraged, motivated, and inspired me to work hard for him. He made me feel competent and capable.

Dr. John Maxwell, the number 1 leadership guru in the world said, “That teacher probably saw you as a “10”.”

If a boss, teacher, leader, or coach sees you as a “2” would you be willing to work harder for them?

When a teacher, boss, coach or leader sees you as a “10” – as capable and competent aren’t you willing to work harder for them?

At 17, I auditioned for Professor Peter Zaret for a full scholarship to attend Virginia Commonwealth University. He was tall, dark, and handsome, neatly dressed wearing a big smile. I played well at the audition and he offered me a full scholarship to the University, which I accepted. Professor Zaret made me feel like a “10” and I was willing to work hard and do my very best work for him. At his invitation I became a member of the Richmond Symphony and assisted him in teaching his adult beginning violin class. During that school year I was a violin student of Professor Zaret . He suggested at the end of the year that I audition for the Juilliard School. He was a wonderful mentor during that year at VCU and encouraged, inspired, and motivated me.

At each stage of your life’s journey you will have a different mentor to encourage, inspire, and motivate you.
Think back over each stage of your journey and write down the different mentors who saw you as a “10” and encouraged, inspired, and motivated you!

When I was 18 years I moved to NYC and lived in the Swiss Town House. My roommate was a lovely young woman named Anna Brady. She was a talented violist and artist, a few years older than me, also attending the Juilliard School. She was from a family of 10 children from New Jersey.

We became good friends and she was one of my first mentors at Juilliard. My violin teacher at the time thought of me as a “4”.
Anna said to me one day, “Come with me to meet my teacher Professor William Lincer. You will love him!”

I went with Anna and she introduced me to her teacher Professor Lincer. He was an older tall and distinguished man with dark hair with some gray, a mustache, and wore a big smile. He made an appointment to hear me play my violin for him.

After I played for him he called me a “red hot fiddler’’ and invited me to join his chamber music class even though it was full. Professor Lincer took me under his wing.

That was the day I discovered Professor Lincer thought I was a “10”. On that day he became my mentor. At the end of the school year I re-auditioned at the Juilliard to become a student of Professor Lincer full time.

Professor Lincer encouraged, motivated, and inspired his students. He took them under his wing. All his students loved and cared about him because he cared about his students. He was interested in training his students to not only be wonderful musicians but to be good thinkers. He had book assignments for reading outside of class and had you write a short book report. He also sent his students to Yoga classes to loosen up and Alexander Classes to teach coordination, balance, and movement. Professor Lincer would also check to make sure you showed up at these classes. He never left a student high and dry! He made sure his students succeeded and graduated with their Bachelors, Masters, and Ph.D.’s. He never gave up! Anna Brady graduated with her Masters at Juilliard and so did I. He thought of each of his students as a “10” and inspired, motivated, and worked with his students to help them reach their goals. His students adored him!

Through your life’s journey you will have many mentors! You will have a mentor for every part of your journey just like my mentors Mr. Whitson, Professor Zaret, Anna Brady, and Professor Lincer.

Remember to thank them and develop others just like your mentors developed you.

What are the three things you can do to be a great mentor?
1) Dr. John Maxwell says, “Make people development your top priority and see everyone you mentor as a 10.” Lift them up: The person you mentor wants to feel important, capable, and competent. Help them by raising their skills. Encourage, inspire and motivate them. Take them under your wing like Mr. Whitson, Professor Zaret, Anna Brady, and Professor Lincer did for me.

 2) Ask the people you mentor for their story and what their dream or goal is. Remember to encourage, inspire, and motivate them to reach their goals. Mentors stand behind the person they are mentoring until they are ready to solo and fly on their own.

 3) Care about the person you are mentoring and want the very best for them.

Remember through life you will have many mentors. They can be teachers, coaches, bosses, leaders, friends, and family members. These mentors will see you as a “10” and will share books, tapes, suggest courses, and will lift you up, encourage and motivate you to increase your knowledge to reach your goals.

Mentors stay the course:

1) Your mentor shows you how to do the work. (“Models”) The person being mentored watches!

2) The person being mentored does it and the mentor watches over them to see if they   need help.

3) The person being mentored tries it solo. The mentor sees if they are ready to solo on their own and fly.

I am proud to have mentored children and adults for over 30 years in schools, colleges, and businesses to reach their goals and dreams. Step up today and make mentoring others  “your top priority”!




Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM is an Amazon.com Best Selling Author, John Maxwell Team Member, Certified World Class Speaking Coach, sought after speaker, business owner, motivational teacher, researcher, and concert artist. She helps businesses and organizations "Tune Up their Businesses". Her innovative observations show you the blue prints necessary to improve and keep your business successful. She writes a monthly newsletter "Madeline's Monthly article & Musical Tips Blog" and a monthly radio show "Madeline's One Minute Musical Radio Show". She has just published her new book "Leadership On A Shoestring Budget" available on Amazon or Kindle.

 Contact Madeline Frank for your next speaking engagement at mfrankviola@gmail.com



Monday, November 23, 2015

“Lessons of Leadership from George Bailey” by Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM


What leadership traits does George Bailey exhibit in the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life”? On the opposite side of the spectrum what kind of a leader is Henry Potter, “The richest man in town”?

The film begins by introducing us to the leader George will become. George at the age of 12 saves the life of his younger brother Harry when Harry falls "through the ice". George becomes ill on that day and permanently loses his "hearing in one ear". George has a part time job working for a pharmacist. While making up a prescription, the pharmacist reads a telegram informing him that his son has suddenly died. He is heart broken; not thinking clearly and accidentally uses poison in the prescription. George, 12 years old, reads the telegram and sees the poison open on the pharmacist's table and realized the pharmacist has used poison in the prescription and tells him.

George at this young age shows respect, character, honor, integrity, dependability, and accountability. Everything we would want in our children, family members, and in our employees.

After high school graduation, George works at the Bailey Building & Loan and waits for his younger brother Harry to graduate high school so Harry can replace George at the Company. George plans to travel and go to college. He has saved his money. When George's father suddenly dies right after Harry's high school graduation party, George gives up his dream of traveling and works with the board of directors at his father's Building & Loan Company. Potter wants to close the Company so he can have the townspeople rent his slum housing. George explains that his father's Building & Loan Company gives the townspeople the opportunity to own their own homes and take pride in them unlike what Potter is offering in his slum housing.

The board of directors said they would close the Company and let Potter take over the town if George does not continue to run the Company. The board of directors likes and trusts George.

George sacrifices his dream of going to college to keep the Company open to continue helping the townspeople. He gives his college money to his brother, Harry. Harry promises to come and take over when he graduates college.

While Harry is at college, George is building up the Company by building beautiful affordable homes with reasonably priced mortgages for the townspeople of Bedford Falls . George cares about the people in his town and as a leader, listens to them, respects them, and inspires and motivates them.
Henry Potter, our scrooge character, is jealous of George's success. The townspeople have moved out of Potter's overpriced slum housing. At one point Potter wants George to work for him.

George is a true leader and an honorable man. Harry comes home after graduating college with a new wife. His new father-in-law has offered him a job. George gives up his dream for his brother.

George marries Mary and right after the wedding, Potter's Bank calls for a loan payoff at Bailey Building & Loan Company. Potter wants to shut them down. There is a run on deposits at Bailey Building & Loan Company.

George and Mary are getting into a taxi to catch a train for their honeymoon with the $2,000 George has saved for them. He sees the doors closed at his Company and the people lined up. He goes into his Company to see what is happening and receives a call from Potter. Potter says he will give anyone that comes to him, 50 cents on a dollar, and that George has to keep his Company open till 6pm or Potter will shut down the Company.

George explains to the townspeople, who want to take all their money out of the Bailey Building & Loan Company that the money is in each their homes and they all signed to get their money back in 60 days.

Mary, George's new wife of just minutes, is a wonderful young woman with the same leadership qualities that George has. She has strong family values, is honest, trustworthy, accountable, and reliable. She listens and loves and cares about George and the townspeople. Mary hands George the $2,000, he saved for their honeymoon. George pays out some of the money to the townspeople to keep the Company open till 6pm. They close the doors at 6pm with $2 left. Potter has taken from George and Mary their honeymoon trip.

Mary fixes up an old leaky house with the help of friends so she and George will have a honeymoon. On the walls she puts pictures of the cities they would have visited.

Potter is a relentless man with no honor and no character. He cares only about himself and not about the townspeople. Potter puts people down at every turn.

Zig Ziglar says, "Strong people don't put other people down... they lift them up."

George Bailey shows leadership throughout his life by lifting others up to make their dreams come true. He helps his brother Harry, Uncle Billy, the pharmacist, Violet, and many of the towns people of Bedford Falls, New York to have happier lives because of the love and care he gives them.

During World War II George is doing his part for the town and his brother Harry has received the Medal of Honor for saving many soldiers lives.

Uncle Billy goes to deposit $8,000 from Bailey Building & Loan Company into Potter's Bank. He sees Potter and brags about his nephew, Harry's success and leaves the $8,000 wrapped in the newspaper he is showing Potter. Potter keeps the money, and then calls the officials knowing he can finally close down Bailey Building & Loan Company.

George and Uncle Billy look for the missing $8,000. They cannot find it. George begs Potter for a loan to cover the missing money. Potter says no knowing he has the missing $8,000.

George is beside himself and decides to jump off a bridge and end it all. Clarence an angel comes down from heaven and pretends to have fallen so George will rescue him. Clarence then shows how the town would have been with Potter in control had George never been born.

George decides he wants to go back and live again and face the problem of the missing $8,000. He arrives at his house to find that Mary and Uncle Billy have collected $8,000 from the townspeople to cover the missing funds. Even the loan company examiner donates money!

George has listened, loved, helped, and cared for the townspeople of Bedford Falls for many years to achieve their dreams. When the chips were down, the towns people of Bedford Falls came through for George. They wanted to give back all that George had given to them.

Isn't this what every leader wants from the people he or she leads and serves?

George Bailey showed how much he cared for the people of Bedford Falls, New York. Dr. John Maxwell says, "People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care."

George's friend Sam Wainwright sends a telegram authorizing his company to give George up to $25,000.

Harry Bailey comes home and says, "To my big brother, George, the richest man in town." Clarence, the angel, says, "No man is a failure who has friends."

In the end George Bailey, the leader, has gotten his dream.  He built Bedford Falls into a beautiful place for families to live. He helped inspire and motivate his townspeople to reach their potential.

Dr. John Maxwell said, "There is no success without sacrifice. You have to give up to go up. The heart of leadership is putting others ahead of yourself." 

What are the 3 things you learned about leadership from George Bailey?

1) George was willing to sacrifice his dreams to help others. He gives up his dream of traveling the world, of going to college, and building things in other places, to build the town of Bedford Falls, New York for the townspeople to have the best life possible.

Dr. John Maxwell said, "There is no success without sacrifice. You have to give up to go up. The heart of leadership is putting others ahead of yourself." 

2) George was a man of character, honor, integrity, patience,  was accountable, reliable, listened to others, and cared about others. He was a problem solver. He built up Bailey Brothers Building & Loan by building Bailey Park, affordable homes for the townspeople. He helped others build their dreams. Great leaders have the same characteristics and values of George Bailey.

3) George Bailey showed how much he cared for the townspeople of Bedford Falls. He always put other peoples needs first! Because he cared about others and helps them, when he was in trouble the townspeople stepped up and helped him by coming up with $8.000.
  
Teddy Roosevelt said, "People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care." Clarence, the angel, said, "No man is a failure who has friends."

By following these three leadership characteristics of George Bailey you to will become a leader people will want to support and emulate.


Madeline Frank, Ph.D., DTM is an Amazon.com Best Selling Author, John Maxwell Team Member, Certified World Class Speaking Coach, sought after speaker, business owner, motivational teacher, researcher, and concert artist. She helps businesses and organizations "Tune Up their Businesses". Her innovative observations show you the blue prints necessary to improve and keep your business successful. She writes a monthly newsletter "Madeline's Monthly article & Musical Tips Blog" and a monthly radio show "Madeline's One Minute Musical Radio Show". She has just published her new book "Leadership On A Shoestring Budget" available on Amazon or Kindle. Contact Madeline Frank for your next speaking engagement at mfrankviola@gmail.com












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Madeline Frank, Ph.D. business owner, teacher, researcher, speaker and concert artist. She writes a monthly newsletter "Madeline's Monthly Article & Musical Tips" and a monthly radio show "Madeline's One Minute Musical Radio Show".