Sunday, April 5, 2009

Pay it forward

Have you spent the last 20+ years climbing the career ladder and now find yourself at the top? Excellent, congratulations! It takes a lot of hard work and determination to rise to the top of an organization... a position only held by one person... you. You've spend years and years acquiring knowledge expertise. Now what?

I say... give it all away. You owe it to the next generation to give away your knowledge and to share your expertise. Think about how much easier your climb would have been if you had mentors and coaches helping you along the way. People who gave away their knowledge to help you learn the lessons that would have otherwise presented you with challenges. Maybe you had people like that in your life along the way. If you did, you've been very fortunate. Now might be a good time to reach out to them and say "thank you."

The lessons you've learned along the way make you unique. You've got scars from your mistakes and if given the chance to script it all over again, chances are good you'd change a chapter or two. So give it away. Start teaching... start writing... start coaching... start sharing. It feels good and it's the right thing to do. You owe it to our profession and to the young people will represent our future.

Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, EFO, CFO
www.RichGasaway.com

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