I remember the first time I attended a Parent/Teacher Conference for one of my children. It was for Heath. Kimberly had set up the appointment and we were going to go together to show solidarity. I was a little nervous. I knew he was a good kid and smart…but I had also seen him pull a ponytail or two of his sister’s. I knew he could throw out a pretty good attitude on occasion and I had witnessed him kick a soccer ball so hard it that it could definitely give a school mate quite a headache. So I didn’t know exactly what to expect the first time a teacher sat across from us and presented us with our son – – the student.
The words smart, well-behaved, leader, listener, kind began to fall from her lips. My heart began to dance. I thought to myself, “That’s my son! I am so proud. He’s awesome!” And then I thought about Kimberly and me….“WOW! We are doing it. It is…actually working!”
It was a moment of confirmation. You know your kids are wonderful – but when someone else tells you that they are wonderful, it is validation…confirmation. I experienced that same wonder and pride and confirmation when I attended the Taking Flight course. At one point Kimberly and I actually squeezed each other’s hand under the table as if to say, “This is really good! We doing it! It is…actually working!”
As president of the company and a student in the class, I felt both proud and humbled that a culture of this substance had been conceived and had taken life within my company and was now being effectively led by highly talented and committed stewards, other than myself, of the Phoenix culture.
It took a lot more years after that first Parent Teacher Conference to “raise” Heath and our daughters. We still don’t consider ourselves “done” with that endeavor yet. We will always be “Mom and Dad.”
Our Phoenix culture is far from being “raised” yet as well. It takes each of us being Culture Keepers to keep the Culture Vultures from entering our domain.
Kimberly and I will forever be proud and grateful to be your Wing Men! Keep Taking Flight!
Phil 🙂
