3 Famous People I’ve Met
Not long ago, I began a meeting with one of my peer coaching groups by asking members to name a famous person they’d met and admired. It was a terrific check-in question that generated some pretty impressive answers.
Though I’ve met more than my share of famous athletes over the years, not one of them could crack the top three spots on my list. The three who made the cut got there not because of their fame, but because there was something about each of them that I respect and admire. Here’s my list:
1. Seamus Heaney.
I met the late Seamus Heaney in 2000, five years after he won the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Irishman had just published his translation of “Beowulf” and was famous all over again. I listened to him read his poetry two days in a row and was able to spend time with him one-on-one each day. One of his poems, “Requiem for the Croppies” was written about a battle that occurred in 1798 at a place in Ireland called Vinegar Hill. My great, great grandfather was born that year in a town called Enniscorthy, at the foot of Vinegar Hill. Mr. Heaney showed me a lapel pin depicting a pike that he was given after reading his poetry in Enniscorthy. I thought he was going to give it to me; I hope my disappointment wasn’t too obvious after he returned the pin to its place on the lapel of his sport coat.
Mr. Heaney taught me that fame and humility can go hand in hand. He is one of the most interesting, charming people I’ve ever met, and there wasn’t a pretentious bone in his body.
2. Richard Olivier.
This is the son of famed English actor, director and producer Sir Laurence Olivier. I met Richard and heard him speak in 2003 when he was touring after publishing his book Henry V and the Muse of Fire. He was personable and as passionate about finding leadership lessons in Shakespeare’s plays as I was about being an impactful executive coach.
I had been coaching leaders for just 18 months when I heard him speak. I credit his talk and what I learned from his book with helping me to conduct effective coaching sessions as a rookie. I still use his book to share his insight with my coaching clients and my groups.
3. Béla Károlyi.
I met Béla for the first time when I was director of sports marketing at McDonald’s; I got to know the famous gymnastics coach during the eight years I served as board chair of USA Gymnastics. I know he’s controversial, and I don’t agree with everything he’s done. Béla made my list because of his passion for excellence and his intolerance of mediocrity. The man you see on TV is the real Béla Károlyi; it’s not an act. He’s that passionate all the time, and he’s someone who is truly “caused by his cause.”
For what it’s worth, I doubt any of the three would remember me, yet they had an impact on me that has lasted long after I met them.
What’s the leadership lesson in this?
Simple. Though I didn’t spend a lot of time with any of them, all three taught me something. From Seamus Heaney, I learned the value of creating connectedness, of creating meaningful relationships. Richard Olivier taught me that you can find examples of effective leaders in unusual places, like Shakespearian plays. And from Béla Károlyi, I learned the importance of passion for your cause.