Leadership, Mentors and Thank You’s
“Bernard of Chartres used to say that we [the Moderns] are like dwarves perched on the shoulders of giants [the Ancients], and thus we are able to see more and farther than the latter. And this is not at all because of the acuteness of our sight or the stature of our body, but because we are carried aloft and elevated by the magnitude of the giants.”
I am not sure about you, but I am here today not because of any grand or strategic career path plan, but because some people saw something in me that I did not recognize or perhaps want to acknowledge in myself.I didn’t know then and don’t know now their motivations or reasons but am grateful that they took the time to mentor me without regard to what might come of it.I have over the years tried to thank them by letter, by email, by nominating them for awards or by writing about them in eblasts.
In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcimus and Anchialus or Heracles and Asopis. In his old age, Mentor was a friend of Odyssesus, who placed Mentor and Odysseus' foster-brother, Eumaeus in charge of his son Telemachus, and of Odysseus' palace, when Odyesses left for the Trojan War.
When Athena visited Telemachus she took the disguise of Mentor to hide herself from the suitors of Telemachus's mother, Penelope. As Mentor, the goddess encouraged Telemachus to stand up against the suitors and go abroad to find out what happened to his father. When Odysses returned to Ithaca, Athena appeared briefly in the form of Mentor again at Odyssseus' palace.
Because of Mentor's relationship with Telemachus, and the disguised Athena's encouragement and practical plans for dealing with personal dilemmas, the personal name Mentor has been adopted in English as a term meaning someone who imparts wisdom to and shares knowledge with a less experienced colleague.
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My time with the Leadership Division has once again provided me with opportunities to learn from those who have gone before. Mentors and mentoring can play an important part in your own development as a leader. Last year Bruce Springsteen wrote lyrics toa piece of music he dedicated to some of his early mentors. It pretty much sums up how I feel about all of those who have played a part in my professional life.
If you get a chance, go ahead and thank those who have helped you in whatever way and in whatever manner you think best. Lastly, thank you for all your work as a leader in physical therapy, in whatever capacity that may be.We all need shoulders like yours to stand on to help us see ahead. Wish you a good week.
“The best should get their shot.”Bruce Springsteen
From the practice fields…
Joe Putos, PT
Chair, Leadership Division
Canadian Physiotherapy Association
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