Yesterday was Graham's, our Call Centre Manager, last day with the company. I became very emotional about his departure. As if somebody who is very close to me was leaving for a long trip somewhere far away. I was crying.
I was crying because it is not so often that you meet people you work with that you can truly respect. I was also crying because Graham had a rare gift of never hiding the child inside of him: he was spunky and funny. He likes Spiderman, and he was not shy about setting a small Spiderman shrine in the corner of his office. Other managers tried to copy him by proclaiming Superman or Star Track to be their super heroes, but it was a fake. Graham was genuine about everything he was doing.
On his last day on job, management organized farewell party and named it a "festivity". There was nothing festive about Graham leaving. It was, in fact, very, very sad: I personally saw him couple of times on the verge of tears.
I can trace my attachment to him to the time when I just started working with the company: it was in January of 2004. He greeted my group of new employees and he was a blast. I remember we were laughing and had fun with him, and that first positive impression had a long lasting impact on my perception of the company. Almost because of him, and for him, it was not hard for me to endure hours on the phone with, sometimes, demanding and angry customers. I knew that by doing my job the best I could, I would live up to the high standards and expectations that defined Graham's work ethic, and deserve his respect.
Now he is gone. It will be very hard, I would say almost impossible to recreate that kind of spirit without him. I, personally, will never forget him, and will forever be grateful for his guidance in how to get a real kick out from being nice over the phone to the customers. That is what I learned from Graham Leah-The Corporate Spiderman.
Good luck to you Spiderman, and remember with great powers come great responsibilites.
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