"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" 

These were the opening lines of the famous Shadow "detective story" radio program captivated listeners many years ago -  are instantly recognizable even today. 

A figure never seen, only heard, The Shadow was an invincible crime fighter. He possessed many gifts which enabled him to overcome any enemy. Besides his tremendous strength, he could defy gravity, speak any language, unravel any code, and become invisible at will.

Today – Shadowing is a form of mentoring. 

In dealership sales, a manager assigns a new salesperson to “shadow” a top producer to follow the mentoring process:

•    The Shadow follows the Mentor around all day and learns the trade from one of your best people, listening and learning (Step 1). 

•    The Shadow quietly observes the Mentor with customers (Step 2).

•    The Shadow takes the lead with the customer and the Mentor assists when needed (Step 3). 

•    The Mentor takes the role of Shadow and observes the process from start to finish without interrupting (Step 4). 

•    The Mentor allows the Shadow to go it alone. 

The first steps involve education; the next steps teach application, and the final steps are validation. Keep in mind, it’s important not to skip any of these steps or your attempts at shadowing will likely fail. 

If you intend to make the most of your efforts as a leader in business, you absolutely must establish a mentoring or shadowing process for growing your people. 

Customers appreciate an organization that invests time into properly training their people. And CPI has many training and mentoring techniques to help you get started. 

See the original Tip of the Day on Center for Performance Improvement