What Stuck When the Chair Ended
The Observation I rolled off as Board Chair of the National Auction Association. The gavel moves. The calendar clears a little. Then the letters arrive. I expected thanks. I expected kindness. What I did not fully expect was the mirror. A few people quoted phrases I say without thinking. Most people did not quote me at all. They described the same few things: showing up when the path was muddled, teaching when the easier move was to protect my time, making room for people who were still figuring out whether they belonged, and caring more about getting a hard call right than about winning the room that day. ...