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Giving and Receiving
Copyright © All rights reserved
By Ken Chapman, Ph.D.
Ken Chapman & Associates, Inc.
Thirteen-year-old Natalie Gilbert was
thrilled to be asked to sing the “Star Spangled Banner” at a nationally
televised NBA Western Conference playoff game. It was a dream come true. She
had wanted to do this for as long as she could remember.
On
April 25, 2003, Natalie stood alone at center court in Portland’s Rose Garden
Arena, poised to sing. All around her stood a capacity crowd waiting for her
to complete this familiar song so that they could get on with the game.
Suddenly, she froze. Her mind went blank. Fear left her wordless. Closing
her eyes and shaking her head, she appeared to be on the verge of tears.
As
she stood frozen at center court, Maurice Cheeks, the head coach of the
Trailblazers, had pity on her. Quickly, he stepped to her side, put his arm
around her and began singing with her. “I didn’t even know if I knew all the
words, but as many times as I have heard the national anthem, I just went on
and continued to sing,” Cheeks told CBS Sports Line. “The words
started coming back to me and I just tried to help her out.”
And
he did. Together, they made it all the way through to “the home of the
brave.”
Sooner or later everyone needs a helping hand. However, is not enough to be
willing to help others. We have to be willing to accept help. No one expects
us to be perfect. In fact, most people are suspicious of those who present
themselves as perfect---and rightly so---seeing as there are no perfect
people. Would you like to enhance the trust between you and your employees or
peers? Try not only offering a helping hand but accepting a helping
hand.
For more information about Ken
Chapman and Associates’ Leadership Development Programs, contact Ken Chapman
at 205.366.0265 or email Ken at
kchapman@leaderscode.com.
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