Instinctively, Dan led the chair of the board outside to a park bench adjacent to the building.
They sat. It was a pleasant day – warm with a bit of sun. Dan’s focus was not on the weather though.
Omar had walked purposefully into Dan’s workplace only a few minutes before. He’d come as terminator, some would say, hatchet man, but Dan hadn’t perceived it. Omar wasn’t the size of Arnold Schwarzeneggar and lacked the sunglasses, black leather, and automatic weapons.
Dan’s day had been tumultuous to say the least. Now, having heard of his colleague’s resignation and witnessed his boss’ sacking, Dan’s head was spinning.
Omar began by apologising for the difficulty of the past few minutes and acknowledged the roller coaster of the past few months. He then turned to affirming how Dan had conducted himself through it all and assured Dan of his place at GPK.
‘If it’s okay, I’d like to put something to you for your consideration.’
Dan responded, ‘Sure’, half nodding, half shaking his head.
Omar summarised events of recent times. The board’s perception that GPK was in serious decline, their conclusion that George’s leadership would not reverse the decline, and the way Dan’s vision had energised the project team and injected life into the organisation.
‘Dan’, concluded Omar, ‘We’d like you to lead GPK. And I hope that you’ll consider it seriously.’
Dan looked at Omar. ‘Is this some kind of Truman Show thing where I’m surrounded by cameras and not allowed to leave? Because it’s been a strange day.’
Omar smiled.
Dan didn’t know whether Calvin’s respect for Dan meant Calvin would eagerly withdraw his resignation. He couldn’t be certain the Next Level project would continue to gather momentum and become a model others sought to emulate. George may not have been able to withdraw graciously, allowing Dan to lead the GPK revival.
Dan’s wife, Cherise, was his sounding board, and as they pondered the future together that evening, he praised her wisdom and good counsel. ‘Of course, you have to take responsibility for letting me entertain my crazy ideas,’ Dan joked. After a pause he pondered, ‘People tell me I’m a good leader – I thought I was just a manager. It’s confusing.’
Cherise thought for a moment, ‘Well, first of all, it sounds like you’re calling me a crazy idea. But apart from that, I imagine you’re a leader and a manager, probably at the same time.
Embrace your confusion.’
Dan nodded, and leaned back in his chair.
THE END
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