There’s Nothing Old School About Influence
As I’ve studied and learned so much from John Maxwell’s book, Becoming A Person of Influence, I marvel at the wisdom that “the true measure of leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.”
For the past twenty-nine years, I’ve lived and breathed the world of public education. My journey began as an elementary teacher for a total of nine years. Since then, I’ve been a school principal and now a superintendent for the past twenty years. After seven years of teaching, I went back to grad school, planning on getting an advanced degree in Reading, because after all, you can never know too much about teaching Reading.
During my first semester of the Reading program, I was at work one day in the school’s front office. Mr. Majors, the principal, a rather old fashioned, burly sort of ‘old-school’ principal, motioned for me to come into his office. For a moment, I felt like I was back in elementary school as a student who had just been summoned to the principal’s office. A tiny bit of fear swept over me and my heart started pounding a little faster than usual.
When I entered his office, he asked me to sit down and with no hesitation he stated, “Lynn, I understand that you are working on your Master’s degree.” The comment took me somewhat by surprise, but I quickly answered, “Yes, sir, that’s right, I am.”
Mr. Majors, in his usual no nonsense way, then said, “In what?” Now I was beginning to feel even more uncomfortable because the tone in his voice seemed sharp and somewhat invasive.
“In Reading”, I replied. “Reading??” he shot back, as if to punctuate that one word with a thousand question marks. I began to explain my thinking for choosing Reading as my major and I was certain no one could poke holes in such a noble rationale.
Mr. Majors listened intently to my explanation and then seemed to sit further back in his big brown leather chair, suddenly appearing more grandfatherly than surly. Although I had no way of realizing it at the time, it was at this point that the conversation that followed would be one of the greatest points of influence in my life.
Mr. Majors began to share with me that he had been observing my work for quite some time and had taken note of my initiative, organizational skills and ability to lead my colleagues. He told me that he saw in me a leader in the making and that he wanted me to promise him that I would take at least one course in the Educational Leadership program.
I initially protested that “leadership is not my thing, I just want to be a teacher!” but after a short while, Mr. Majors persuaded me that there would be nothing lost by just humoring him and taking one course in leadership.
And the rest, as they say, is history. That first leadership class, I immediately fell in love with learning all I could about leadership. It was my calling, it was my purpose and has been my passion for the last twenty years.
Looking back on that day, sitting in Mr. Majors’ office, feeling like an insecure second-grader, I can with great certainty, acknowledge the life changing influence that a surly, old-school, elementary principal had in my life. He was willing to invest a few minutes of his time in me and communicate his belief in me, when I had no belief in myself.
And it is In sharing my story that I hope to inspire you to remember that every day, when you are interacting with people, old and young, rich and poor, at work or at play, that you are a person of influence in someone’s life. “There have been meetings of only a moment, which have left impressions for life, for eternity”. J. R. Miller
About the Author
Lynn is a speaker, trainer and coach who has been a public school administrator for almost 30 years. Her focus and “why” in life is adding value to people thorough writing and teaching. Her passion is inspiring others to overcome life’s obstacles and find their own “why”. She has overcome many major obstacles in life herself and uses her own personal story to motivate and inspire others.
Contact Lynn at: http://johncmaxwellgroup.com/lynnwicker