You may have read this story this past week. A recent graduate from Yale died in a car accident on the way to meet her parents. A young promising life cut short; a terrible tragedy. Here name was Marina Keegan. Her story became widespread news when the piece she wrote for her commencement class hit the internet. It is a beautiful essay on innocence, connection, and hope for the future. I urge you to read her writing.
Keegan: The Opposite of Loneliness
As an experienced leader, who graduated college 25 years ago, I found myself reading Marina’s essay with a number of separate thoughts and feelings. First sadness that this bright young person died so young. From there her writing reminds me of my responsibility as a leader. Marina and others like her will come to work for me (and you) with all this hope, energy, openness, and want to succeed. It fact there are folks like Marina here already in my work environment. I can not fail them and nor should you in your leadership role.
Marina’s central point in her essay concerns her connection to her fellow students and her fear to lose this connection. As she calls it, “This elusive, indefinable, opposite of loneliness”. I call it We Move Together and Marina will always remind me of the promise young people bring to the world when then are ready to make their mark.
Marina has a line that resonates well with me and my experience:
For most of us we’re somewhat lost in this sea of liberal arts. Not quite sure what road we’re on and whether we should have taken it. What we have to remember is that we can still do anything. We can change our minds. We can start over. Try writing for the first time. The notion that it’s too late to do anything is comical. It’s hilarious.
Marina ended her essay with, “Let’s make something happen to this world”. In her honor, be a leader and make something happen. Bless you Marina, a reminder to us all that WeMoveTogether.
WeMoveTogether 
Hi Michael – what a lovely deeply touching blog – is it possible that our employees feel this way about their place of work – isnt that what our objective could be as leaders.
Thank you for your thoughts and yes, indeed our employees feel this way because they are people. People want to belong and contribute. Our challenge is when we have been in the workplace for a while and we forget. I am thinking more about this topic and already working on a part two to this post. It gets to the heart of what my blog is all about.
Thanks again – Michael