Recognizing Uniqueness

I was 21.

It was my first summer working with Visions Service Adventures, and we were making the 6-hour drive from Anchorage, Alaska, to Tok, a tiny town where we were spending the summer living with 30 high school students from around the country.

I was hired as the outdoor specialist and knew I’d be teaching students to kayak and backpack. We’d spend much of our time doing cultural learning and community service, like building a bridge over a river, not to disrupt the salmon spawn.

During our drive, Brad said, “So tell me your story.” He was the director of the program, and wanted to learn more about me.

“What do you mean?” I said.

“What makes you unique, what makes you you?”

I had no idea how to answer this question. “I’m not unique; I’m just like everyone else.”

Now that I am no longer 21, I realize that was the most uninformed, arrogant answer I could have given. Brad had the wisdom of age that I did not, and he retorted. “Are your friends from your Pennsylvania high school also ice climbing this summer? Are they also teaching teenagers to weld? Are they learning how to shoot a 30-06 rifle & then teaching how to shoot to these same teens, because that’s a cultural pastime up here in Alaska, all the while smiling ear-to-ear?”

I got his point. And have never forgotten it.

Each of us has our own set of traits & experiences. But when we are surrounded by people who do the same stuff as us, it’s easy to forget how unique we are. I recently presented at a tax conference, filled with county assessors and accountants. At the conference, that same conversation came up; the I-am-not-unique one. I looked around at all these folks who love the tax work they do, and I thought: Oh yes, you are. You have no idea how unique you are.

There is no one else just like you. Whether they are young, old, seasoned, or new, how are you helping your team to see and marvel in the differences each of them brings?