I hope at least once in everyone’s career they get to have a boss like this. It looks like we are about to launch into a duet of “Islands in the Stream.” But actually this was at the end of our #simplytogether22 Clark Hill firm retreat. My boss Susan Ahern (pictured here) told me how much she appreciated my contributions, how meaningful they were, and how important I was to her and to our work family. I said I felt the same about her. There may have been tears (mine … natch).

It’s a rare privilege to work with someone, let alone an organization, that celebrates you for your authentic self, letting you shine in ways meaningful to you. I have that at Clark Hill. Susan has encouraged and inspired me to be myself fully at all times, to center my talents around empathy and grace and compassion, to leverage the strategic “pause,” and to work harder and smarter than I ever have in my life. She’s elevated me and my work in ways I’d never thought possible. She’s been my ally and my advocate, and she’s helped me discover a higher standard for what I do.

Ask for more in life. You deserve it. And one day you’ll find you have the good fortune to have a Susan in your life too.

Thank you to my beloved colleague Maram Salaheldin, an epitome of intelligence and wit and kindness, for snapping this moment for posterity.

P.S. I think that “encore” behind us is prescient and apropos after this amazing event.

#simplysmarter