Lighten up.

This morning I was commuting and realized I wasn’t wearing green and it’s St. Patrick’s Day 🍀. I reversed my commute and put on something green.

It made me think of two leaders who helped me to put things in perspective early in my career. A longer tribute is needed for these mentors, but here are highlights.

Many moons ago...

It was my first job at Merit School of Music. I was over-the-top worried about something or other in my Development Assistant job. Duffie Adelson, Executive Director (the big boss), noticed and one day told me to come with her. I was confused. She took me to the Shedd Aquarium and spent a few hours (yes, hours) with me wandering around and looking at fish. 🐠🐠 I remember her advice clearly, “Sometimes you need to get away.” She didn’t need more words, her actions spoke.

My second job was at Seyfarth at Work. I was distraught when called on vacation by the GC of Hilton letting me know the training materials hadn’t arrived as planned. It was terrible. When the big boss, Carol Merchasin, talked to me about this mistake she smiled and said, “We’re not doing brain surgery here, Dawn. Nobody is going to die on the operating table.”

Does someone on your team need your support to find a healthy perspective today?

#leadership