The Mentorship Gap

0:08So what we're going to talk about today is the mentorship gap and how that is keeping founders stuck for 10 years, sometimes even more. So important. I'm really passionate about mentoring, you know, because there's a pattern that I've seen repeatedly over the last 30 plus years that I've been in business. And the pattern is this, you have talented founders, ambitious, hardworking, intelligent leaders, and yet 10 years later, they're still at the same revenue level. Business hasn't grown. So they're still solving the same problems. They're still stuck in operational chaos. And it's not because they lack ambition.

0:48Plenty of ambition. And it's not because they're not working hard, but they often lack proximity. So I want to talk about mentorship and the gap that I often see and why most founders actually, they don't fail. They just plateau. They kind of tick along. So how do you get yourself unstuck? Well, it's got to start with you. Always an inside job. So the 10 year plateau pattern that we're finding is that most founders journeys, they look like this. right? As an example, years one to three, you're in hustle mode, right? You're scrappy, you're doing everything. Growth feels fast because everything is brand new, right?

1:30Might sound familiar to you. Then we get to years three and seven, the complexity and the team grows, revenue increases, problems multiply, you know, but as a leader and a founder, you're still central to everything. And then it can get to years seven to 10. And often this is where we are in that stagnation phase, you know, and actually revenue stabilizes, stress increases, innovation slows, the market might have shifted, maybe you've not. You feel busy, but you're not really expanding. And this is the dangerous phase, because actually from the outside, you know, it looks successful. But the reality is internally, you can actually feel overextended, you know, reactive, slightly frustrated, unclear on your next move.

2:15And what most founders do at this stage is they tend to double down on the effort and they might stick with the familiar, right? Because you know what's worked in the past, more hours, more strategy tweaks, more tactical changes. But effort, so effort is not the missing piece, but the perspective is. And let me tell you, what has got you to this stage will not get you necessarily to the next stage. You're going to have to make a change. And, you know, the lie here is that of self-sufficiency, entrepreneurs pride themselves on independence, creativity. I'll figure it out. I'll learn. I don't need help.

2:51But here's the truth. You cannot see your own blind spots. When you work with a mentor, it changes everything. If you haven't got a mentor, you absolutely need to. This is going to transform your life and your business. Because when you are in your business, you're too close to your business. You're emotionally invested. You might be protecting decisions that you've actually already made or maybe you've spent money on things and you're still sticking with it even though it's not really working you know and you would defend your identity so mentorship is not about instruction it's actually about interruption and a strong mentor interrupts your limiting beliefs your operational habits your avoidance patterns and you know your comfort because without interruption, thinking actually calcifies.

3:42And when you're thinking, calcifies, grows stalls. So founders who plateau the longest are often the most capable, but because their competence masks their constraints. That's the challenge that we have here. So before we continue, I want to speak directly to those of you who are listening and thinking, I know I'm capable of more, but I need structure. I need some help. Because here's what I've actually learned after, gosh, more than three decades in business. You know, ambition without clarity creates frustration. And motivation without structure, it really does fade very, very fast. So that's exactly why we created Rise Academy.

4:33You know, and Rise Academy, It's not theory. It isn't fluffy motivation, although you will be motivated. And it certainly isn't another online course that you never finish. It's actually a fully structured growth environment for ambitious entrepreneurs, leaders and founders who absolutely are ready to do all of these things. sharpen their strategy, elevate their leadership, increase revenue with intention, and build businesses that actually support the life that they want. And inside Rise Academy, we focus on the foundations most people skip, leading yourself, leading your teams and leading the business.

5:14It's about clarity, standards, decision making, commercial intelligence and execution. Because scaling, it really isn't about doing more. It's actually about doing the right things and doing the things right consistently. So if you're serious about stepping up into your next level of your leadership, your business life, and not just consuming content, but actually implementing it, then Rise Academy was absolutely built for you. So you can find all the details on our website, go to www.brave-bold-brilliant.com. And now, let's get back to the show.

5:59What does real mentorship actually mean? What does it do? So let's just strip this back. I've been a mentor for, gosh, 20 plus years of the 30 years I've been in business. And I also have mentorship myself. So I know what good looks like. You know, real mentorship does four things. It collapses time, right? So instead of learning through, you know, three years of your own trial and error, you shortcut the decisions because your mentor will most likely have made some of those mistakes themselves. So you can share it. It elevates your standards. You start operating at a higher benchmark because someone is holding you there, but they're also sharing different ways of doing things with you because we all only know what we know right number three it forces strategic clarity you move from reaction to intentional because your mentor will be asking you challenging questions and the fourth area is it strengthens your leadership capability or identity so you stop behaving like an overwhelmed founder and start thinking like a ceo a true leader you know And the right mentor doesn't always give you the answers.

7:09They will advise, they will support you, but they upgrade your thinking as well. And that allows you then to also upgrade your results. So a true mentor is there to hold you accountable, call out your bullshit and actually really support you with your growth. So let's talk about the real cost of being stuck. If you're plateauing at two or five million for five years or so, that's not neutral. that's lost opportunity it's lost scale it's lost impact it's lost wealth it's lost freedom and that can compound but more than the financial loss there's the psychological cost all right so you begin to doubt yourself in these situations you question whether this is just how it is often you can normalize stress you might think the chaos is normal and the longer that you stay in that state, the harder it becomes to reinvent yourself.

8:09Because the reality is mentorship is not an expense, it's leverage. It is smart to get a mentor and leverage changes the velocity of how you work, the level that you work at. So how do you know if you're in the gap? Well, ask yourself, when was the last time someone truly challenged your thinking? him. Who has permission to question your decisions? Good questions, though. Are you learning at the level your revenue demands? If you want to be a 100 million revenue business, you've got to be a 100 million, you know, leader. Is your leadership evolving as fast as your ambition? And if the answer to those questions makes you feel uncomfortable, maybe shift around in your chair a little bit, then that's telling you something, right?

9:03So you may be operating inside that mentorship gap. And the gap doesn't close itself, let me tell you. It requires intention. So let's get down to the reality here. The difference between a founder, a business leader who plateaus for God knows how many years, a decade, could be more, might be a bit less. But if you're ambitious, you don't want to plateau in. And a founder who scales in, say, three years, it's rarely intelligence. It's rarely exposure. It's about exposure to better thinking, higher standards, faster decision making, stronger leadership modelling. You don't need more hustle. You actually need a sharper perspective.

9:46Because acceleration is not luck, it's leverage. And it's the leaders who understand this that absolutely move differently. You know, so really challenge yourself with this. Honestly, at every single stage of my career in the last 30 plus years, I have always, always had a mentor, a coach, whether it's been a promotion, whether it's when I got my first managing director role, when it was when I was starting a new business, when it was scaling up and moving into an executive board position. whether it was starting a podcast, which you're watching this now, maybe listening to this on the podcast.

10:33Every time I've had a mentor and every time it has allowed me to 10x. So don't think about the cost of a mentor. It's an investment. Think about the return that you are going to get by having a mentor. So if you haven't got a mentor, reach out. Now, I mentor people directly. So if you're interested in having a mentor that's going to be there by your side 100 percent, absolutely drop me a line. Or actually, if I'm not the right person for you, that's totally fine. But find someone. I implore you, find someone. And at Brave Bob Brilliant, you know, we're all about supporting each other, building a community of business leaders, founders, entrepreneurs, ambitious people that want the best for their business, their teams and their life ultimately.

11:26Right. So with that in mind, what I would say to you is make sure you're part of Brave Bob Brilliant community. Subscribe to YouTube, subscribe to iTunes, Spotify, the podcast. Make sure you're checking out the website and joining our community. And actually, you know, for your teams as well, what I would also say, as you invest in yourself as a leader through mentorship, also think about your teams. because we created Rise Academy, which is the ultimate digital leadership development program. Fully online, 12 modules, everything you need to know and your team needs to know about running a business, leading yourself, leading your teams, leading the business.

12:11And we have made it lifetime access, lifetime access. And it is absolutely at a super value level. so go to the website get your team signed up to Rise Academy get yourself signed up to Rise Academy and get yourself a mentor honestly it will transform your business in your life and remember we don't get any prizes for playing small there's no point in living a life less than you're capable of so with that in mind remember it is by being brave it is by being bold that you will unlock your brilliant. I really hope you've enjoyed this episode of Brave Bold Brilliant. Remember, check out our new website www.brave-bold-brilliant.com.

12:59You're going to find loads of resources on there that's going to help you with your leadership journey and with the businesses that you're trying to scale up and grow. So take care, everyone. And remember, there are no limits to your growth, but it is by being brave and bold that you're going to unlock your brilliant. You