The Lifelong Power of Teachers and Mentors
I was recently asked to share who I had worked for who deeply inspired me and why. It was an interesting aha moment for me, as I realized there have been sadly too few people.
I’ve worked for some powerful and very successful businessmen, but I had to smile because the last boss I had who truly inspired me, and still does, was Joanne Ollman, when I worked at Proskauer in 1988. She is also the last female boss I had. She is wicked smart, incredibly empathetic, and taught me how to manage up, as well as to manage a team. When I got married, she and her husband held our chuppah, and when I had my children, she taught me how mother. Joanne has been full-service in my life. Boss, mentor and close friend, I am eternally grateful to her.
While she may have been the last leader I felt that way about, I’ve been fortunate to have other women in my life who have inspired me. This piece is also about them and what I hope we can all strive to be.
Gail Zahler was my 6th grade teacher. She was, and is, creative, funny, nurturing, artistically talented and encouraged each of her students to problem solve without boundaries. Her classroom was a learning lab. In the seventies, our classrooms were designed for new ways of learning, SRA reading kits, Harkness style tables, dioramas and so much more. But not all the teachers had the skills to adapt. Gail was an inspiration for each of us because she created a safe space for us to experiment and play, while we learned. She was an innovator and came to her job wearing the coolest clothes, the longest false eyelashes, and Olympic-level energy that inspired us to be our best 12-year-old selves. She didn’t give only grades on report cards, she gave us superlatives that stuck. Fabulous still makes me think of her when I manage teammates or mother my kids.
After I graduated from elementary school, my life became more challenging. My dad was diagnosed with lung cancer and my mom’s alcoholism reached new heights.
Enter stage left, Jennie Kramer. Jennie is the older sister of a childhood friend and sadly, her dad had already died. She was a camp and after-school counselor with the Central Queens Y and understood my life in a way few could. And as I moved into junior high, Jennie was there, like the big sister I didn’t have. She was, and is, one of the most thoughtful and compassionate people I have ever known. And once again, I found someone who mentored and inspired me through their intelligence, creativity (this time with music) and compassion. Not surprisingly, Jennie founded and runs a counseling business that helps people.
Through the magic that is Facebook, I saw Gail post on Jennie’s feed; they had reconnected.
Fast forward through the logistics. Gail, Jennie, and I had lunch together yesterday in NY. I know what being in flow feels like – hiking, shooting macro photography, deep conversations with my kids or loved ones – but there are very few things that feel magical to me. This was magic and my smile shows it. I felt like I was 12. And because of Jennie, I was able to better understand and verbalize yesterday, how and why Gail made such an impact on me.
It turns out Gail was a special person to Jennie too. And as we connected the dots over lunch and discussed myriad topics, so much made sense.
I am a helper (or a problem solver) in a business context, but I am also a connector. I like when I can create synaptic connections between other people. And I try to infuse everything I do with creativity and compassion. These two women showed me how to do this, 45 years ago and they encouraged me to do so through their actions.
Over the decades I’ve worked with thousands of professionals and, when I recruited, candidates. I hope I’ve passed on some of the gifts and magic that I received from Gail and Jennie. And I hope I can still learn to be a better mentor and teacher and be even more creative and empathetic.
Who has inspired you?
Please, reach out and thank them.
