Image Source: Orange County Archives, Creative Commons
Many times a humble leader discovers strengths in his or her coworkers that even they have failed to detect. Sometimes you just don’t know what precious gems are buried beneath the surface of another human being. We call this process “finding Sparky.”
Say again? Let us explain with this story.
When he was a young boy, his friends gave him the nickname “Sparky” after a horse in the Barney Google comic strip. Though he was quite intelligent, Sparky’s shyness and timidity made school an agonizing experience. High school was especially challenging. He was a small, 136-pound pimply nobody. No one seemed to care about him. He remembered being astonished whenever anyone said hello. He had some skill in golf but lost an important match. He was a fair artist, but even the staff of his high-school yearbook would not publish his drawings. No one, including Sparky, seemed to think he had much to offer. He later said about this period in his life, “I never regarded myself as being much and I never regarded myself as being good-looking and I never had a date in high school, because I thought, who’d want to date me?”
After high school he completed a correspondence course in art. He wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios, hoping to be a cartoonist there. The studios requested drawings, and he worked many hours on them before mailing them to Disney. His reply from the studios: “rejected.”
How did Sparky respond? He began drawing an autobiographical series of cartoons about a chronic underachiever, a boy whose kite would never fly. It wasn’t that long before the whole world became acquainted with this character named Charlie Brown—as well as friends of his named Lucy, Linus, Pig Pen, and Snoopy. Sparky—Charles Schulz—became the most famous and wealthy cartoonist ever. At the height of his popularity, his cartoon strip Peanuts appeared in 2,600 papers in twenty-one languages in seventy-five countries. In 1978 he was named International Cartoonist of the Year. The whole Peanuts cartoon gang once appeared on a cover of Time magazine. This “loser” in high school really had some potential after all.
A humble leader is always looking for Sparkies.
Each person with whom a leader works has hidden gifts and talents, and someone may even have the enormous potential of a Sparky. We need to help them uncover, develop, and use those talents. Humble leaders relish the idea of helping people find their unique niche. They enjoy moving people along to bigger and better things. They celebrate the victories and provide encouragement when their people are discouraged or fearful of moving ahead.
Take Gary, for example. He worked in the mailroom for one of my clients. Unknown to his employer, Gary was a computer genius. When the president of the company needed help, I suggested Gary, and he delivered. Today, Gary is a highly respected computer executive. He got his start from an executive who was open and humble.
Many leaders focus on people’s weaknesses. They are always trying to “fix” someone. They fail to recognize potential and help people develop a path for personal success and reward.
Share with us some “sparky” stories about that person who just blossomed when you or someone helped them see their strength. Maybe someone saw you as a “sparky.” Please share.