THE PHONE MESSAGE THAT STARTED A VIRTUAL COMMUNITY
For the past two years, we have been sorting through 35 years of Ann McGee-Cooper’s business files. It is amazing how many people one person’s life can touch.
Even after saving meaningful pages for Ann’s Legacy Archives, it has been difficult to shred the remaining copies of emails, notes from phone conversation meetings, and pages of handwritten notes from ten filing cabinet drawers. It takes a lot of time, because invariably, we stop, read, reminisce, and think of Ann when we are sorting and making decisions on what to keep and what to shred.
Recently, we came across a phone message that was taped to the inside of a yellowing folder. I smiled when I saw it. It simply said,
“Deborah Welch called. Would like to connect with you. Friends of Jenny Duncan.” (Ginny Gilmore).
I held that phone message in my hand and thought, “Wow, everything we are doing today with Deborah Welch and Ginny Gilmore started with this one message. It is that feeling we all have at moments to reach out, but sometimes wondering if the other person has the time or the desire to “reach back.” It was a friend, connecting through another friend. And through the years, friendships deepened. Dialogues happened at conferences. The Virtual Servant Leadership Learning Community® was born. And later, we wrote a book together, The Art of Coaching for Servant Leadership…a dream that Deborah had which came to fruition. But all of this started with one, simple phone message, more than 20 years ago.
Networking–friends connecting friends—can yield so many good things. A former Client and friend, Paula Calise, sent a simple email telling me “there is someone I think you would enjoy meeting and knowing about their work; it is Bev Davis with SPARK! I called Bev, we met, and she showed me their amazing work. She invited Timm Chamberlain and me to her annual Creativity Confab. We heard Dr. Claudia Beeny from The House of Shine at the Confab, and she became a speaker for our Dallas SLLC®. SPARK! is hosting the October 2018 meeting for the Dallas SLLC® where we will explore the link between Innovation, Creative Mavericks, Creative Champions, and Servant Leadership. Paula is doing fascinating work in Personal Branding and we are hoping to have her as a speaker in our 2019 Dallas SLLC® series. And it continues on and on and on.
THE POINT?
When you have that feeling…you sense an intuitive urge to reach out…bolster up the courage and make that call or send that email. These initial connections can be the start of something great.
"Ann McGee-Cooper teaches us that 'work' and 'drudgery' are not synonymous. She shows how a job can be a source of fellowship, zest, pride, fun, and individual expression. If we follow her precepts, we will return home refreshed, not jaded, and inspired rather than debilitated, at the end of our 'fun day,' not our 'work day.' We will also collectively be a more productive, competitive, and healthy society. I believe in what she says."