#015 – Keep Ministering Spirits
The It is a privilege of the mighty to surround themselves with the champions of intellect; these extricate them from every fear of ignorance, these worry out for them the moot points of every difficulty. ‘Tis a rare greatness to make use of the wise, and far exceeds the barbarous taste of Tigranes, who had a fancy for captive monarchs as his servants. It is a novel kind of supremacy, the best that life can offer, to have as servants by skill those who by nature are our masters. ‘Tis a great thing to know, little to live: no real life without knowledge. There is remarkable cleverness in studying without study, in getting much by means of many, and through them all to become wise. Afterwards you speak in the council chamber on behalf of many, and as many sages speak through your mouth as were consulted beforehand: you thus obtain the fame of an oracle by others’ toil. Such ministering spirits distil the best books and serve up the quintessence of wisdom. But he that cannot have sages in service should have them for his friends.
I personally love this passage. In the coaching world, we are often so guarded and worried about “being shown up” that we often ignore the great resources available to us. One of the first things I do when I am working with a new program or group of coaches is to ask them who would most challenge their leadership and knowledge. I then have them seek that person out (when possible) and tap into that relationship. We can’t be afraid to have a friendship or even a working relationship with a competitor. Sure, we are not going to share all our program secrets, but what better way to get an outside view of your program, team, and organization? My challenge to you this week is to find someone who is outside of the inner circle of your coaching life, maybe someone who has intimidated you with their success or is a rival, and begin to foster a friendship and share knowledge. You will be surprised how much you benefit from sharing the knowledge.
This blog series is based on the book “The Art of Worldly Wisdom” by Balthasar Gracián. This book was written for advice on how to achieve personal and professional success. This blog series aims to visit the points of wisdom and put them in the spotlight of the coaching and education lens.
