Leadership. Defined.

I used to run an internship program for the Post Production division at a company where I worked. When I first took over the role, I inherited a relationship with a NYC editing school where most, if not all, of our Post Production interns came from.

It was a mutual relationship. We gave their students tours and showed them our work, and then sat them down. And, in turn, they asked us questions about how we worked, what they needed to do to get a job, and even some personal questions about the journeys each of our team members had taken to their respective roles.

In the following weeks they applied for paid internships and a few got the experience to help launch their careers in editing.

In my time at that company, there was only one intern that didn't become an Assistant Editor with our company. It was amazing record of success.

For my entire time with this company, I recognized the value of that relationship and actually built and fostered an even bigger one. We had a pipeline for one of the hardest positions to staff and it was practically perfect, so that was fit to be protected.

This one summer, we had identified two individuals to become our interns but had not yet offered them the position, when my COO came to me and said he had met a nice young man who was bartending part time and really wanting to work one day as an editor in Film/TV/Streaming. I told the COO I was happy to meet with him and I did. He was impressive, and only lacked the very specific experience that the two other candidates possessed.

Under different circumstances, I may have hired him. He showed a love of film, was intelligent, punctual, kind, and presented himself well. However, since his experience was less, I told him how we pulled these two students from this particular school, which I elaborated on a bit, and that he could apply again for the next internship at the company.

He thanked me right there, and even followed up with a thank you note, and then we didn't speak again...

...until I was giving my next tour to the school about six months later and guess who was in the class?

He had looked into the school and realized it had exactly what he needed in order to sharpen some skills he already had, and enrolled. He didn't ask me if he should, or ask for an internship if he did...he just took the class and then he was there. He had my email and could have sent me a note saying he would be on that tour that day, or that he had been taking the class, but he did not.

I was so incredibly impressed in that moment.

When I talked to the Director of the school, she told me he was the best student she had.

He applied for the internship, went through the interview process, and then was awarded the internship. He was easily amongst the absolute best interns we ever had. Then, once the internship was over, we offered him a position to become a freelance Assistant Editor (AE) for our department. Soon thereafter, he became the most sought after AE for all of the streaming and film projects that were starting with our company. Everyone wanted him for their teams.

The feedback after the projects was the same: "he's amazing" "we love him so much" "he's awesome" and more of the same from anyone who worked with him.

In just two short years, the projects were letting him cut scenes as an Editor in order to advance his career even further. He will be someone whose name is on huge projects as an editor in a very short amount of time. I look forward to seeing his work.

After I left that company, I got quite a few emails from people thanking me for things that I had done for them.

I love those notes, and for some reason, this batch touched me in a very different way. They all spoke to the things that mattered most to me, which is the kind of person I believe myself to be. I won't share the whole note this young man sent, but here is an excerpt from that email:

"I heard about you leaving (redacted), and I wanted to reach out to say that working with you these past three years has been an incredible experience, and one I'll always be immensely grateful for. Even as an intern, I always felt I had agency working with you, and the rest of the people at (redacted), while also feeling like I had room to learn and grow. You fostered an environment that made me feel like I was taken care of and backed up, giving me the confidence to do the best work possible in a way that made me feel fulfilled. Working at (redacted) has profoundly changed my life for the better, and you've been an integral part of that. Thank you for believing in me, for having the confidence to continue giving me opportunities, and for taking into consideration the kind of work I want to do. I look forward to?working together again."

I didn't write this story, or share this email to show you what kind of leader I can be, I shared this story to show you what other leaders look like.

I consider myself lucky to have worked with a person like this; someone who is destined for something greater than I could ever possibly imagine.

I am humbled he thinks that I did something extraordinary.

How thankful am I to be associated with someone like this, someone who takes the time to go fully and completely towards their goals, to execute their daily tasks in such a way that people use the most sought after superlatives to describe them, and then to be able to write a note like the one above, and never point to himself in the process, but to heap those rewards on me.

I had no idea how to lead this way when I was this young man's age. What a gift to the world he is, and will continue to be. Be like this young man. Be a leader.