11/05/2020
I wish these were my words, but I share them deeply.
The author is John Erzema, the American CEO and writer, who focuses on social sciences and the impact of leadership ethics and corporate culture on consumer behaviour and financial performance. He has a particular focus on female leadership traits and competencies in modern-day leadership, and this is even more appealing for me 😊 (i.e. read his book "The Athena Doctrine: How Women (And Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the World" and you'll understand).
Today I was lucky enough to jump on a webinar of the Business of Fashion, one of my usual daily obsessions, and listen the great Alber Elbaz interviewed by Imran Amed.
In one of the last moments of the conversation, Amed read a message from a model who worked with Elbaz in the early stage of her career, praising him for the kindness and authenticity with which he treated her, not to mention the equality of treatment, being her a young model of colour. That happened more than a decade ago.
He was visibly moved by these praising words (which talks a lot about the kind of person he may be).
What was more important to me was how much impact a simple act of kindness did in the career of this person, if she was still reminding this moment after so long.
This makes me realise two things:
1. How many people I recall having been so kind with me in my career. These people, however few, remain mentors for me as they made a great impact on my life and moulded the businesswoman I am today,
2. How many people, hopefully, did I inspire with my kindness and authenticity and to whose career I positively impacted. These people are still my friends or in my inner circle and I hope from time to time, they will remind that moment. And even if this won’t happen, I know I did my best for helping them be the best version of themselves as leaders.
Kindness is a self-less attitude but can make an incredible impact, in life and in business.
How many of you did experience the same? Tell your story below. 👇🏻