A timeless lesson

For a long time, I have wanted to write about my dad's extraordinary life. He came from very humble, even traumatic, beginnings but managed to forge a successful career in Local Government and has been happily married to my mum for sixty years. When he was 40 years old, he ran a marathon in 2hrs 48mins, I remember riding the bike alongside him for company on those long training runs. This year he turned 83. The writing project is now well underway, and it has been an absolute delight to hear the stories and share in the roller coaster ride of dad's journey. He was born in Halls Gap, where the photo below was taken in 1943, he was three years old. One of the stories he recounted is a timeless lesson in leadership, that is worth sharing in his own words:

"My friend's dad was doing some bridge repair work not far from the Halls Gap school. I used to stop and talk to him on my way home from school. He had held positions of responsibility with the Public Works Department but decided in his last couple of working years to do jobs in the local district.

This particular day he invited me to stay for an hour or so because two of his supervisors were stopping by at different times to check his work. He wanted me to watch each one, listen to the conversation, and later talk to him about it.

So, the supervisors called in, one about half an hour after the other, and reviewed what he was doing. The first one walked around inspecting what he had done, then returned and quickly gave instructions on the tasks yet to be completed and requested some changes to be made to jobs already completed. He then departed. About half an hour later the second overseer arrived. He started by having a friendly conversation with my friend's dad and then together they looked at the works. This supervisor spent most of his time listening to the explanations and reasons behind the way tasks had been done. He then advised he was happy with the progress made, expressed his appreciation, shook hands and left.

My "mentor" turned to me and said, "Laddie, one day you will be a manager. Never be like the first one; Knows everything, and because he doesn't listen, learns nothing and gets no respect. The second bloke is supportive, gets the best from me, including my knowledge and experience, I feel appreciated, and he gets a better job." "

"Respect is a key determinant of high-performance leadership, how much people respect you determines how well they will perform" - Brian Tracy