By Ann McGee-Cooper
Each of us has many gifts that we enjoy yet take for granted. I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the voices and mentors who helped me see my gifts and have the courage to live into them.
I was fortunate to be introduced to Robert K. Greenleaf in 1980 by Diane Cory, who then worked for AT&T, and he became a generous friend and mentor, supporting our work designing learning experiences teaching servant leadership, a concept Greenleaf championed. I didn’t have a great deal of time with him but the instances when he did serve as a mentor were deeply transforming.
I remember Bob listening in a very deep and profound way. He was never quick to answer. And he asked surprising and interesting questions. I hoped that he would “give me the answers.” But more times than not, he would ask questions to help me think from a new perspective. And when I pushed hard for his opinion on a specific teaching approach, he said something like this: “Ann, you have so many gifts making learning fun, creative and interactive. Trust your instincts. You are there with the Partners at TDIndustries and managers at AT&T. You will sense things intuitively that I can’t foresee. Learn to listen to that still, quiet voice within and observe what happens with those you are teaching. Trust yourself to know how best to engage them as they create their culture of mutual trust and serving their Customers.” Those weren’t his exact words. I probably can’t come close to what he said. But what stuck with me and kept challenging me through the years was his deep faith in my unique gifts to make learning meaningful, beginning with the learner’s concerns and therefore highly engaging. He would say, “The secret is to build from what comes from their concerns, insights and gifts.”