LEADERSHIP COACHING: The Most Important Gift
In my book Culturize, I share a story about the generosity of a Hilton Hotel shuttle driver by the name of Rodd Jackson.Let me just say this world needs more people like Rodd Jackson. Admittedly, there are days when I wish I had a million dollars. Not so I could go out and purchase a new car or buy a bigger house or even hire my own personal chef to cater to my love for food. Nope. I wish I had that kind of money so I could fly the Rodd Jackson's of the world to my parent’s house and give them a gift from my heart: a taste of my mama’s home cooking. It would be like Undercover Boss—you know, the show that features the experiences of senior executives working undercover in their own companies to investigate how their firms really work and to identify how they can be improved, as well as to reward hard-working employees like Rodd. At the end, the executives return to their true identity and request the employees they identify to travel to a central location—often corporate headquarters (in this case, my mama’s house). The bosses reveal their identity and reward hard-working employees through promotion or financial rewards. At the time, I hoped and prayed that the executives at the Hilton took the time to recognize Rodd for the value and the pride he brought to his work every day (maybe even fly him to corporate headquarters to personally thank him). Knowing Rodd for the brief time I had, I would guess he would deny or reluctantly accept because, in his heart, it was not about him, but about his customers.
Well, as luck would have it, I had another close encounter with an angel this past week, but this time his name was David and he worked for National Car Rental. My flight was delayed in Dallas, which meant I would not arrive to the airport in Fargo, ND on time to pick up my rental. My assistant contacted the airport and spoke to David, who shared that he would wait for me. More impressive was that he gave her his cell number and told her to have me give him a call. I contacted David who assured me it would not be a problem and that he would wait for me, even though I was scheduled to land after 1 AM. I felt terrible about having him wait for me, but honestly, I was also a little desperate because I still had a two hour drive to my destination and didn't want to miss or delay my speaking engagement the next morning.
When my plane landed at 1:15 AM I made my way to the National counter. As I came around the corner there was David waiting for me with a big smile on his face and the first words out his mouth were, " You must be tired after a long day of travel." "What?," I thought to myself. "He's concerned about me? He's the one who should be tired and home in bed." As I waited for my luggage David continued to enlighten me with one story after another.
David's generosity touched my heart that night and his commitment to do "Whatever it took" reminded me as we approach another school year that the most important gift we can give is when we go out of our way to carry the banner for our students, staff, families and guests so when they walk away form us, they feel like they were treated like the most important people in the world.
Thank you David for being my Merchant of Hope and for reminding me there is still so much good in this world.
NEW RELEASE!
Daily Inspiration for Educators: Positive Thoughts for Every Day of the Year, Volume II is available now.
Daily Inspiration for Educators is intended to offer hope, validation and inspiration to some of the most inspiring people I know; hard working education professionals. They are a collection of my daily Thoughts for the Day taken from my Twitter feed over the last three years. My hope is that these timeless messages will serve as a resource that motivates and inspires educators during times of joy as well as when things get tough, as we know they will periodically in a profession as important and challenging as ours.
We are offering a 33% discount on all orders of ten copies or more through the month of August on both Volume I and II. That's $10 per copy! Contact us directly on our website and receive free shipping.
FREE STUDY GUIDE: Handle with Care - Managing Difficult Situations in Schools with Dignity and Respect
This study guide was created for you, the reader, to encourage you to reflect on your work as an educator and more importantly, to inspire you to act. Our hope is that you will use this guide with teachers, athletic coaches, fine arts directors, support staff, and administration to intentionally examine your classroom and campus culture to ensure that all members of the school community are managing difficult situations with dignity and respect. As you work through the study guide, you will see that it aligns with the four core principles of the best-selling book, Culturize, that I have shared below which served as the mantra by which we aspired to impact others with whom we had the honor to serve as school leaders:
Champion for All Students – Never Quit & Invest More Time in Relationships
Expect Excellence – Model the Behaviors You Want Others to Repeat
Carry the Banner – Create Positive and Meaningful Experiences
Merchant of Hope – Everyone Deserves to Be a Part of Something Great
As you read through the guided questions, you may choose to discuss each question before reading the chapters or you may wait until you finish reading each chapter before engaging in a dialogue with your team. Each chapter is filled with content, strategies, ideas, stories, reflections, anecdotes, quotes, and challenges to provoke honest and meaningful discussion.
Thank you for investing in HANDLE WITH CARE, but more importantly, for investing in yourself and others in order to cultivate a community of learners by behaving in a kind, caring, honest, and compassionate manner in order to challenge and inspire each member of the school community to be more and do more than they ever thought possible.
