Julie, sales support manager for a food brokerage company in Seattle, Washington, told Session 3 of the Leadership Development Lab.

It was my sophomore year of high school. I had just transferred to Del Norte High School in Crescent City, California in the middle of the second semester. I had been assigned a class called "Business to Business" and I was terrified of the teacher. Mr. Alvernez had painted all the keys on the typewriters, adding machines, calculators - all of the keyboards black. If you were caught looking down at the keys, he would swat the machine with his yardstick. I asked my parents to get me out of this class because I was scared of him and couldn't handle it. They said, "stick with it." I felt so intimidated it seemed impossible. To my surprise about two weeks after I had made such a fuss and begged for them to get me out of the class, I received a letter in the mail from Mr. Alvernez stating what a wonderful student I was and that I would succeed in whatever profession I chose! I have referred back in my memory to that letter many times over the years, remembering his declaration that I would be successful at whatever profession I chose.

There have been many times, in

college, early in my career, and even recently when we started the LDL, when I was afraid and wanted to quite.

It is those instances when I think back and remember Mr. Alvernez's words and they have given me the courage to persist, the courage to press on.

The lesson I learned from this experience is that my judgments about others are often rooted in my own fears, my own lack of self confidence. I learned the importance of giving people more of a chance, not to judge on first impressions, and to have more patience. The action I call you to take is don't always go on first impressions. Be more patient with yourself and others. When you find yourself judging others, harshly, check inside and see if what is really showing up is your own fears. The benefit you will gain is that you will learn more about other people and more importantly, you will see yourself as you truly are - a powerful person able to learn and grow.

This is a great story that also points out that you, in your role as manager, can have profound long-term impact on the lives of your team members. You can change their lives for good, forever.