What You're Proud Of is Who You Are

         Tonight was a leadership summit of all of the leaders in the collaborative practice movement in Maryland.  These folks are the heavy hitters of collaborative practice.  They are all heavily involved in different organizations, and have all held different leadership positions.  As part of the evening, we went around the room and introduced ourselves.  You know the drill - say our names, where we're from, and a little about ourselves.  Usually, I'm thinking about what I'm going to say when it's my turn. (Oh, admit it, we all do that).  Tonight, I really listened to what everyone else had to say.  What I found really fascinating was what each person chose to say about themselves.  It was a real glimpse into what was important to each of these people tonight.  For some of them, what was important was that everyone knew how important they were.  For some of them, what was important was saying as little as they could say and then sitting down.  I'm not talking about those folks.
          I'm talking about people like my two friends who actually read this blog.  One of them emphasized that he is a member of a faculty that trains other people to practice collaboratively.  Now, this friend is also a pioneer in collaborative practice in our area and a former president of our local practice group.  He could have emphasized that, but for him, teaching was what resonated.  He's accomplished a lot with his teaching, he's reached a lot of people and done a lot of good work.  I can understand why he's proud of that work.  Another friend emphasized that she started the Maryland state umbrella group for all collaborative practitioners.   Let's see, she also was a practice group leader, and the moving force behind the founding of that practice group.  She was on radio and quoted in the newspapers speaking about collaborative law -  in the early days, she was THE face of collaborative practice.  Those are all things of which she should be proud.  What she was proud of, however, was that when she looked around the room tonight, she knew that all her hard work paid off in spades.  She was proud of what collaborative practice has become in Maryland, and that she started that ball rolling.  For both of my friends, it was not their personal accomplishments that were important, but what they were able to help others accomplish.  What I'm so proud of is that I have two such wonderful people as friends.  Here in the Trenches.