Those who influence us can come from many different areas of life if we are open to listening and learning. So, who has influenced you?
People who influence us may arrive at different points in our careers. But, we must be open to listening and learning. In fact, Solomon places great emphasis in Proverbs on being a learner if you want to see significant growth in your character.
So, who has had the biggest influence on me? And, what did I learn from them? Those influences have played a role in my character development. And, more importantly, in my ability to build wisdom into my life, as explained in the following diagram.
My Wife
At the time of this writing, I’ve been married for nearly 47 years. Thus, we have lived together more than twice as long as I lived with my parents.
As a married couple, we have been together through a number of significant life events. For example, problems with the first pregnancy, emergency surgery, multiple moves and career changes, serious financial stresses, divorces among our adult children and in both of our extended families, going into a Ph.D. program in our late 30’s, and an adoption – even later than that!
Through the difficulties she has remained faithful, patient (mostly), and supportive.
So, what have I learned from my wife? Apparently not very much! However, at times I have been know to listen – at least a bit. Well, at least that’s my perception!
My Parents
From my parents, I learned a number of things.
For example, I learned the importance of integrity and hard work. Being faithful and dependable. Making my spiritual life central to all else I do. Service to others. Careful stewardship of resources. I also learned the value of a family heritage.
Spiritual Guidance
As expected, I have been blessed with spiritual guidance from a number of different sources during my lifetime, including pastors and Sunday School teachers.
While in college I attended an early morning men’s Bible study. The attendees were mostly young professionals. The pastor who led the study taught me the basics of expository Bible study. Those skills have served me well for the last 50 years. I have used those fundamental skills when teaching others, sharing with others, and most certainly for feeding myself scripture.
During a mid-career change, our pastor was very supportive. He provided specific guidance as I began the process of preparing to go into a Ph.D. program.
Most obviously, I believe I’ve grown in my sensitivity to the Lord’s guidance in my life. That guidance is much broader than the specific decisions we have made. More critically, I believe, is God’s direction in regard to life purpose at specific seasons of my career.
Certainly that was the case when I become a dean, which was a long-held desire of mine. Now, I sense God’s purpose in my life as I have left my nine-to-five life. Instead, I’ve repurposed to sharing what I’ve learned during my career through the outlets of LinkedIn posts and a blog.
Developing Business Skills
Regarding business skills, I learned those from a variety of sources, including various managers I reported to during my twelve years in industry.
However, much of what I know about managing the day-to-day aspects of a business I learned in high school and college while working for an entrepreneur. He taught me fundamentals such as cash management, attention to inventory levels, watching your expenses, and growing revenue wherever possible. I also learned just how much hard work was required in order to be a success.
Proverbs 22.29 teaches that when we prepare ourselves beforehand, we are ready to take on greater responsibility. proverbsforprofessionals.net
Many Professional Mentors
I had a number of mentors in the various stages of my life.
During my professional career, I received advice from several individuals who were supervisors and influencers. My personal and professional growth increased dramatically when I chose to be intentional about that growth.
During the transition from industry to academia, my major professor in my Ph.D. program had a significant influence on me. Most particularly, I think, is the development of writing skills that continue to be useful today. I appreciate his patience in working with me over a two-year period as I completed my dissertation while also a faculty member at another university.
Similarly, I became very deliberate about asking for advice from fellow deans when I was an interim dean at two differ time and was struggling with personnel decisions. During that same time period, several provosts provided significant professional advice to me.
In addition, I was able to have consulting sessions with the university president on several occasions while I was considering a career transition while serving as interim dean.
Fortunately, I was able to enjoy a friendship with someone who was a former CEO turned executive coach. I received a significant amount of very practical, and unbilled, coaching from him due to that friendship.
Near the end of my career, he counseled me to repurpose my life rather than blindly enter into retirement. That advice proved to be some of the best I ever received – because I acted on that advice.
Who Has Influence You?
Well, now you know a bit about me, my family, and my influencers.
So, back to the original question. Who has influenced you? In addition, in what ways have those individuals influenced you? As expected, some will be positive influences and some will be negative.
Reflecting on, then answering these questions will give you some important insights into how you got to be the person you are today.
Some Take-aways
We recognize that influencers are imperfect, but they have expertise in a specific area that is transferrable if we choose to listen and learn.
Over time, we are influenced by a number of people. At any one time, we can have more than one mentor at work in our life. That’s certainly been true for me.
As we build discernment, we are better equipped to accept influence that causes us to grow, while ignoring influence that is inappropriate or destructive.