What my mother, my English teacher and the US Marines have in common
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When I was a teenager, my mother had something she said to me whenever I was headed out for the evening. "Remember who you are," would follow me out the door. I knew what my mother expected. She challenged me to act right.
At the Bronx High School of Science, my freshman English teacher was Irwin Hoffman. He was no "Mr. Sunshine." I don't what he was like before, but it was clear that a stint in the infantry in the Second World War had affected his outlook on life.
But not his outlook on reading or on his students. In Mr. Hoffman's class we read and discussed a book every week. The only exceptions were two weeks each for David Copperfield and Moby Dick.
Mr. Hoffman had us reading and discussing books that I wouldn't even hear of again until college. In his class I discovered serious reading and it had a profound influence on my life.
Mr. Hoffman didn't listen to other teachers who suggested that high school freshmen couldn't handle the books he assigned. He expected us to handle them. He challenged us to grow.
After high school graduation, I joined the Marines. The US Marines are the world's largest elite military service. They have an awesome reputation.
But Marines don't do great things because the Marines recruit the very best. By and large the men and women who join the Marines look and test like the men and women that join other services.
Marines do great things because that's what the Corps expects Marines to do. Expectations rule.
People will live up or down to what you expect of them. Expect them to achieve and support each other and they will. Expect them to look out just for themselves and they will.
Great bosses expect the best. They challenge their people to do the best they're capable of.
Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.
Nice post Wally...I agree with what you've said about doing the right thing. You might be interested in a post I authored on Veteran's Day about other leadership traits that can be learned from the military: http://www.n2growth.com/blog/veterans-day
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Thanks for sharing that, Mike. I took three big leadership lessons away from my Marine experience. First, there is no leadership unless there is leadership by example. Second, leaders are charged with accomplishing the mission and caring for the people. And, third, leaders eat last.
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Wally, what a delightful post for inspiration from your own leadership - which models and teaches the best!
I do have a questions though
Who or what inspired your mother to reach for an expect excellent?
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Good question, Ellen. I think there are two answers.
Her parents set the example. They raised her and her brothers and sisters to be people who looked for solutions and who expected things to work out.
And her faith is part of this. She believed that what you do should reflect your faith and she believed that she should, in the words of Luther's Small Catechism, "put the best possible construction on everything."
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Wally, thanks for the article. When I hit the big beyond the gravestone should read,"he always had high expectations of himself and others."
Sometimes salespeople do not know what they are capable of. Good leaders will challenge salespeople to think possibilities rather than limitations.
tom
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Thanks for sharing that, Tom. I know that I would never have tried as much as I have because I've been challenged by so many wonderful people.
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Great point! So next time others seem to be overly demanding or obnoxiously particular, we should consider taking it as a compliment. They simply expect better of us!
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In my experience, Hayli, some people who are "overly demanding" are trying to get the best out of us. Others are just being overly demanding. Thanks for coming by.
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This is a great story..and a thought provoking one too.
When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time dreaming. While dreaming in itself is not a bad thing, the attention I paid to other, more practical things often was seriously lacking. When asked, "did you do your best?" I always said "yes". But it wasn't always true.
In my adult life I have met a number of people who have challenged me. They have not always been my favorite people and I think this is the point. The people who have high expectations of you and demand your best are not necessarily your friends. But if you're smart you will remember them with gratitude because it is entirely possible that they see something in you that you do not see in yourself.
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Great point, Gwen. At the time, it's not always easy to separate the challenge from the value.
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