“Lasting Impact…”
Shared by Kristina Smedley
“Lasting Impact…”
Breanne and I had a conversation this morning about the lasting impact coaches and other mentors have had on our lives.
I immediately thought of Jim, my past Director in SoCal.
And immediately a lump came to my throat.
Jim has been hugely impactful in my life.
When he announced his retirement in 2016, I started crying in the office.
Which is not normal, in case you’re wondering!
And it took me quite a while to really understand why it hurt so bad.
Sure, I was losing my greatest mentor and guide at work.
But there was something much deeper.
One morning, as his last day was approaching, I was standing at my desk and could hear Jim walking in to the office. As we walked down our aisle…
“Good morning, Pam!”
“Barry, how’s it going?”
“Kiser, how was dinner last night!”
Then, “Morning, Kristina. Hey, great job with the IIF Leadership Team meeting yesterday!”
I smiled. And felt appreciated… and sad. I was really going to miss him.
This is how Jim entered the office every morning.
Always with a smile on his face… and somewhere important to be.
But never without greeting everyone he passed, knowing everyone’s names, remembering what you shared with him last, and recognizing your accomplishments.
In that moment I realized that I wasn’t only losing a mentor, I was losing my number one cheerleader and coach, and the person who was most proud of me at work.
I was losing my biggest advocate as a leader and for the forward-thinking initiatives, we were working on together. It was always Jim who made me feel like I belonged there.
At Jim’s retirement party, I felt so deeply touched and appreciative for getting the chance to work with him and learn from him.
I knew those few years were special; once in a lifetime experiences that I’ll always treasure.
Now, three years later, Jim comes to mind often as I’m reflecting on my own leadership style.
The most important thing I learned from Jim is that the greatest accomplishment of a leader is building relationships and belonging within the group. This enables the team to accomplish more than they could have ever imagined.
Leading is not all about hitting metrics and financial targets, although that often seems to be the accepted belief.
I would put this more in the “management” bucket.
Great leadership, everywhere, always starts with a focus on the people.
Maya Angelou, a famous author and civil rights activist, states: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
They’ll never forget your pride in them, your appreciation, their sense of belonging.
When talking about his high school football coach, Ryan Fletcher, our business mentor, states, “His impact transcended the field. You weren’t just a player to him, he wanted you to be a successful human. He was tough. Mean when he needed to be. But you always knew he loved you as a person, beyond being an athlete.”
I’m sure his coach wanted to win, but again it was more about his teammates.
Great leaders know that success depends on the relationships and belonging they are able to form within the team.
My hope is that, one day, more of our managers see this and can start practicing being true leaders.
#InspirationallyImpactful
#IntegrallyRelational
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