"Great Leaders Breed Great Leaders"


Sometimes you just hafta stop, reflect and pay Homage…

As I live and learn, I realize that everything in life is a lesson. We’re either learning from someone or something, or someone is learning from us. We can teach lessons without even knowing that we’re doing so. Those lessons can either affect people in a positive or negative manner. That’s why we should always be mindful of what we say and do and how we treat others, and we should always treat others the way that we want to be treated. Now, we’re not going to get this right 100% of the time, and that’s why it’s so important for us to be mindful and pay attention to our actions and our words.

When I first started my professional career over 30 years ago, I had a Supervisor named Marilyn J. Smith, who would change the trajectory of my professional life. I was so greenwhen I secured my first ‘real’ professional job. I was extremely nervous during my interview, that I literally had tears streaming from my eyes. I was so embarrassed because I let fear and anxiety take over me at that moment.

However, Marilyn showed me so much compassion that day. She knew! She knew that I was inexperienced. She knew that I didn’t know how to interview. HECK! By that time, I’m sure that she also knew that I had absolutely no formal practice interviewing because it was evident that I didn’t have any interviewing skills. LOL!

I can remember Marilyn being very empathetic as she redirected the conversation and in her own maternal way, ended up coaching me on the things to say during an interview. She was teaching me during one of my most vulnerable moments. What she modeled to me that day would have a lasting impression on me as a young professional and into my adulthood when I would have opportunities to supervise others. I was able to model that same humaneness to others as I served in Supervisory roles… and that’s because I had a great Role Model.  

What I would discover over 30 years later, after she recently passed was that I wasn’t the only person she extended that grace to. Several of my long-time friends & former coworkers, would share similar stories of their interviews. The content of our stories were different, but what was consistent was the fact that we ALL bombed those interviews and were still extended, the same consideration. 

Marilyn hired a group of young black professionals and gave each of us a chance at growing into someone greater than we could have imagined ourselves to be. It’s as if she knew in her heart that someday those ‘Kids/Young Adults’ were all going to amount to more than what she saw in those interviews. She helped nurture and strengthen our weaknesses but mostly she challenged each of us to strive to become MORE. We all realized that God put her in each of our paths to deposit things in us that we would go on to deposit in others, later.

I can now put the pieces of that puzzle together as I realize why I chose to become the kind of Leader that I am today.  It’s so important that when we have an audience/platform, that we model behaviors that others can (and want to) adapt. I can truly say that I benefited tremendously from Marilyn and what she modeled to me and I’ve been able to pay it forward many times over. 

Marilyn’s job on this earth was very meaningful as she positively affected more people than She’ll ever know for generations to come. May she rest in sweet peace. 

Comments

Mrs. B said…
Hi Ro!
Rest in peace Marilyn!
We all need a Guardian Angel!
February 24, 2021 at 11:37 AM
Ms. Ro RED said…
Yes Ma'am Mrs. B,
I agree🤗
February 24, 2021 at 12:37 PM
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