Ever since my first day as a 'working person', I have been searching for people who inspire me, preferably - but not necessarily - in my vicinity. And I actually kept it that way throughout my career, and still do today. I think it's important, even necessary, to have people around me from whom I think: "How does he/she do that?" And … "I want to be able to do that too!"
For example, there was Bruno, during my very first job at P&G, who could synthesise fantastically well, and could perfectly summarise the essence of 1 month of R&D work onto 1 page. So ...I taught myself how to write a valuable monthly project report. And so many inspiring examples followed later: that fascinating speaker who captivates his audience; that incredibly strong negotiator who goes for win-win agreements; that eternal optimist who turns every setback or stumbling block into an opportunity; that strong lady who always finds the right words; that spontaneous woman who tells it like it is; that natural networker who easily starts a conversation ...
Yet I never had a real 'mentor'. Nor a real role model.
But today…. today I received an email from a younger colleague in which she writes “that I am a role model for her!”
Wow, that's big! It makes me silent for a moment.
Generally speaking, I'm not very good at receiving compliments anyway – I find it much easier and more fun to give them. And this is quite a complement, isn't it?!
So I feel a bit uncomfortable. Because I don't feel like a role model. I'm also not trying to be one. I do what I do the way I think makes sense. In the way that suits me. In the way that feels right to me.
And so … I answer back: “That it's the first time I'm told to be a role model for someone! And that I will try to live up to this honour by continuing to explore, to search and to develop myself, and this with all my own flaws and uncertainties. “
But this one email has left a lasting impact. Because since then, I've become a little bit more aware that I can contribute in many ways, that I can mean something to someone in many ways. That I can not only help people by doing things together, but that I can also inspire people – simply by doing the things in the way I do them.
Just like that.
In my own way.
Simply just me.
I mostly remember :
“It matters what you do; not what you think you should be doing"
How do they do it?
Peter Hinssen : the way he captures his audience from the first minute to the very last! My speaker-role model
MamaVanVijf : young mother of 5 kids and 2 plus-kids. A women full of energy. Her story inspired me to start also with this blog. My blog-role model!
Lieven Scheire : being able to bring science and knowledge to a broad non-scientific audience. Fascinating. Funny. Educational. My nerd-role model!
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