A mentor isn't someone who provides step-by-step instructions. The most powerful learning comes from finding someone you admire and closely observing their every move, how they speak, and how they behave in the face of obstacles, rather than seeking direct guidance.

Promoting top individual contributors into management often backfires. Their competitive nature, which drove individual success, makes it hard to share tips, empathize with struggling team members, or handle interpersonal issues, turning a perceived win-win into a lose-lose situation.

Elite salespeople understand that closing deals requires a team. They actively cultivate advocates within their own company—in operations, support, and finance—by treating them well and recognizing their contributions. This internal support system is critical for smooth deal execution and ensures they can deliver on client promises.

At Vanguard, strong job performance alone is insufficient for career longevity. The company's culture, shaped by leaders like Jack Brennan, mandates that managers must also excel at developing and leading their people, making management skill a core requirement for success.

Effective leadership prioritizes people development ('who you impact') over task completion ('what you do'). This philosophy frames a leader's primary role as a mentor and coach who empowers their team to grow. This focus on human impact is more fulfilling and ultimately drives superior business outcomes through a confident, motivated team.

Salespeople often focus on being 'coachable' (receptive to feedback). A more powerful trait is humility—the proactive asking for help and recognition that success is a team effort. Humility unlocks collaboration and support, getting you further, faster than simply being open to advice.

When confronting a high-performing but abrasive employee, don't just criticize. Frame the conversation around their career. Offer a choice: remain a great individual contributor, or learn the interpersonal skills needed for a broader leadership role, with your help.

After setting a 100-year company sales record, a salesperson was harshly rebuked by his manager for letting his future pipeline run thin. The mentor's message, 'This is not acceptable, not from you,' wasn't about numbers but about upholding professional standards, even at the peak of success.

For short-term mentoring to be impactful, it must be painful. The goal isn't gentle guidance but to make an overlooked opportunity or flaw so painfully obvious that the mentee is jolted into action, partly to prove the mentor wrong. It's 'crash therapy'—uncomfortable but highly effective at driving change.