Recently a great friend of mine lent me a new book to read. The book is called, The Mentor Leader, written by Tony Dungy. After reading just a few pages I knew this book would be very useful and applicable to practices in my own life. While I have only read the first few chapters, there are several messages that are quite clear. I think everyone can benefit from some of these ideas. This is one of the great ideas in chapter I. I have linked this central idea to health promotion.
“The mentor leader looks at how he or she can benefit others…Mentor leaders look beyond themselves, focusing on the people they lead and where they should be going together”
This idea is central to my core values. I believe that we all need to bring out the best in each other. Often we get caught up in bettering ourselves that we fail to better others. In the area of health promotion this idea could not be more evident. Often, we take care of our own health and fail to support and encourage others to do the same. When it comes to health we allow others to make their own decisions. We are stuck in the mindset that individuals can make their own life choices regarding physical activity and nutrition. This however is problematic. Individuals who are inactive and have poor nutritional habits are unlikely to change, they need help. Mentor leaders recognize this and support, encourage, and lead others to peruse a more active life. Mentor leaders are proactive and do not sit by the sideline waiting for that individual to change. They find strategies and work diligently to bring out the best in individuals. Bringing out the best in people is central to health education. If we can bring out the best in all people (making them healthy) we can make better individuals and a healthier society. As an educator it is my goal to lead others in becoming active healthy individuals. Only when we begin to lead others will we see true change.
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