In the past two weeks, during three independent discussions, I heard people recall some advice they received from their teachers.
My sister recalled how she was once told by her career guidance teacher that she would never achieve her own goal of becoming a teacher. The spurious reason given was that she didn’t ‘fit the mould’. It’s ironic that those very words just motivated my sister to prove her teacher wrong, to go on to have a distinguished career as an educator and is now Principal of a College. Lucky she didn’t let herself be limited by her teachers lack of vision.
A friend of mine recalled his teacher using a colorful metaphor to explain how an expert differs from a practitioner. The explanation was that an expert is someone who knows everything in the Kama Sutra but who never gets to go out on a date. That memorable quote has helped my client chart his own career path and give guidance to his team on the importance of honing their practical skills.
A colleague of mine commented on how she never had any ambition to go to college until a teacher saw something in her – the potential to achieve – that nobody else saw, even herself. But this teacher volunteered extra time and effort to help that young girl develop her confidence and is credited by my colleague for inspiring her to embark on what has been a very successful career.
Those three discussions got me thinking – once we leave school, who takes over the role of teacher? At that age we tend to blank out any advice from parents, and I don’t recall any college lecturer imparting wisdom to me in the way some teachers did. The closest I can think of is what I’ve learned from my bosses and mentors at work.
In exactly the same way as teachers, some bosses are memorable for good reasons, and some for not-so-good reasons. I remember some great advice I got from different bosses, including the advice to treat people well while I was ‘climbing the ladder’ because they were the same people I’d meet on my way back down the ladder.
That advice came true when I was made redundant from a multinational after 17 years – it was the people I had worked with for years who then became my network. Luckily many of them were happy to give me introductions and contacts to find work for Aspira – karma for treating people well.
Each of us needs to realize that in our jobs – whether as a people manager, project manager, or as mentor to junior staff- we can have a real impact on our colleagues, for better or for worse.
We can provide encouragement, career advice, and words of wisdom. Or we could choose to offer discouragement, cynicism, and negativity. Let’s make sure that each of us chooses to be the inspiring teacher who helps people to realize their potential and to Seize the Day!
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