Let
this note find you shining at your best.
Here
are two stories that I found really inspiring in the context of leading,
mentoring people. I am sure in more than one way you will be grooming and
mentoring some people around you. These stories will give you another
perspective – especially dealing with mistakes done by them and also handling
some of them who are performing below your expectations!!
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Mistakes
are opportunities
This
is a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very
important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper
reporter who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much more creative
than the average person. What set him so far apart from others?
He
responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother
that occurred when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a
bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery
bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor—a
veritable sea of milk!
When
his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a
lecture, or punishing him, she said, "Robert, what a great and wonderful
mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the
damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk
for a few minutes before we clean it up?"
Indeed,
he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, "You know, Robert, whenever
you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore
everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use
a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?" He chose the sponge and
together they cleaned up the spilled milk.
His
mother then said, "You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in
how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let's go out in
the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way
to carry it without dropping it." The little boy learned that if he
grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it
without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!
This
renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he
didn't need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes
were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what
scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment "doesn't
work," we usually learn something valuable from it.
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Teacher
& the Student
As
she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she
told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students
and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible,
because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named
Teddy Stoddard. Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed
that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy
and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant.
It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking
his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big
"F" at the top of his papers.
At
the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's
past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his
file, she was in for a surprise. Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy
is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good
manners... he is a joy to be around.."
His
second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by
his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness
and life at home must be a struggle."
His
third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He
tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home
life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."
Teddy's
fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much
interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in
class."
By
now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She
felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in
beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was
clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to
open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to
laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and
a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume.. But she stifled the children's
laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and
dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.
Teddy
Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs.
Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to." After the children
left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching
reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children.
Mrs.
Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind
seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By
the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class
and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy
became one of her "teacher's pets.."
A
year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was
still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Six years went by before
she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high
school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in
life.
Four
years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been
tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon
graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that
she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained
that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The
letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had.
But now his name was a little longer....The letter was signed, Theodore F.
Stoddard, MD.
The
story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring.
Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that
his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson
might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for
the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore
that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made
sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on
their last Christmas together. They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard
whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing
in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I
could make a difference."
Mrs.
Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you
have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a
difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."
(For
you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr. at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines
that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)
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