Mentor
by Scott Shaffer

He’s a lawyer by profession, a coach at heart;
with a rare pairing of high-powered mind
and superlative people skills.

He sits in his Columbus, Ohio office–
tall, athletic frame leans forward, as he writes.
He flashes his smile, bright eyes of welcome.

I flop in a chair, we chat. He’s gifted
at breaking down complexities
into simple lessons, then conveying

them in concise, practical terms, … like:
“At any moment, I can only think of one thing.”
I realize that I and others have that same limitation.

For my client’s benefit, he coaches me to employ
this reality in my writing and presenting:
Start at the beginning, and bring them along, step-by-step.

I observe him four years in Columbus: he leads
people with humility and respect; with a wise awareness
that you can’t assume others have your values.

In later years, he recruits me to Bloomington, Illinois.
At one point, a long-term project burns me out,
so I appear at his office door, “I might go back to Ohio

to practice law.” He responds, “You can still thrive here”;
then promptly finds me a new position. It fits my strengths
and satisfies me for many years, until I retire.

He battles a progressive degenerative disease for 18 years;
but continues to coach, lead, and care well for his people.
I thank God that he was my mentor … and friend.



 

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