I was recently interviewed for a podcast created by a former MPA student, Jake Lawrence. When the podcast is ready, I will make sure to send out the link to everyone. Jake asked some very good and insightful questions that really got me thinking, how did I get here?
Seldom do we take the time to really reflect on "how did I get here?" so if you have never done that, it's a useful exercise. For those of us who see our teens and twenties in the rear-view mirror, I don't think we could have predicted exactly where we would be in life today. I am also grateful we did not have a crystal ball because we would have missed out on some valuable lessons and experiences.
For myself, I grew up in a single-mother household when my parents divorced as I turned 5. Although supported by a close-knit extended family, my living circumstances was fraught with emotional turmoil, poverty, upheaval, and just day to day stress. There are many people and organizations that came into our lives and some small, and not small ways, made our lives better whether that was assistance with housing, or food, or clothing, or school or activities. I knew that my mother could not provide all we needed, even though she was and is incredibly proud, she took help when help was offered. From my childhood experience, I learned two very important lessons.
As a woman, build yourself up first, invest in your education in case the planned becomes reality. Check.
Second, I learned that, although challenging, my childhood was much-improved thanks to the efforts of others in official and unofficial capacities. At my core, I believe in helping others, especially women and children from lower incomes who I can empathize with. No wonder I always wanted to work in the public and nonprofit sectors where I could feel I was making a difference in real ways. This is at the heart of my life today, in how I think, act, and speak.
So how did I get here? One answer is simply experience; what happened to me growing up. The second is a commitment to do all I could, to rely on myself, to work hard and take advantage of opportunities and seek opportunities to better myself. Everything fell into place because of these two reasons.
Last week I wrote about leadership and how great leaders need compassion, competence, and confidence. I think compassion comes with humility, competence comes from hard work and confidence comes from knowing you have compassion and competence.
Seldom do we take the time to really reflect on "how did I get here?" so if you have never done that, it's a useful exercise. For those of us who see our teens and twenties in the rear-view mirror, I don't think we could have predicted exactly where we would be in life today. I am also grateful we did not have a crystal ball because we would have missed out on some valuable lessons and experiences.
For myself, I grew up in a single-mother household when my parents divorced as I turned 5. Although supported by a close-knit extended family, my living circumstances was fraught with emotional turmoil, poverty, upheaval, and just day to day stress. There are many people and organizations that came into our lives and some small, and not small ways, made our lives better whether that was assistance with housing, or food, or clothing, or school or activities. I knew that my mother could not provide all we needed, even though she was and is incredibly proud, she took help when help was offered. From my childhood experience, I learned two very important lessons.
As a woman, build yourself up first, invest in your education in case the planned becomes reality. Check.
Second, I learned that, although challenging, my childhood was much-improved thanks to the efforts of others in official and unofficial capacities. At my core, I believe in helping others, especially women and children from lower incomes who I can empathize with. No wonder I always wanted to work in the public and nonprofit sectors where I could feel I was making a difference in real ways. This is at the heart of my life today, in how I think, act, and speak.
So how did I get here? One answer is simply experience; what happened to me growing up. The second is a commitment to do all I could, to rely on myself, to work hard and take advantage of opportunities and seek opportunities to better myself. Everything fell into place because of these two reasons.
Last week I wrote about leadership and how great leaders need compassion, competence, and confidence. I think compassion comes with humility, competence comes from hard work and confidence comes from knowing you have compassion and competence.
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