Growing up I was surrounded by a family of educators who promoted the value of setting goals and lifelong learning. My grandfather, Roy B. Robertson, was a teacher, principal, football coach, entrepreneur and philanthropist. In addition he was a husband, father to 3 daughters, grandfather to 5 kids, and a coach to thousands of people. Most people just called him “Coach” but his grandkids called him DaddyHat. He earned this name to reduce any confusion between our Daddy and my Mom’s Daddy. But mainly because he was always wearing some kind of a hat.
Along with his name and title, DaddyHat’s business cards read “The path to success always involves effort and planning.” He lived this quote in all his interactions. He was always making lists on the back of napkins or menus in restaurants when we went out to eat. DaddyHat taught us the value of effort and hard work by giving us paid jobs starting at age 6 at the recreational lake he owned with my Grandmother Mickie outside Wichita, Kansas. We started out filling a paper cup with all the cigarette butts we found on the beach, to cleaning toilets or bath houses and eventually moved on to working the concession stand or serving as a life guard.
A tradition DaddyHat started when I was in the 6th grade, was asking all the grandchildren and their parents, “What is your five-year plan?” at the Christmas holiday. Everyone took turns sharing their plans and he asked a few questions as he listened intently. Yet there was a silent expectation from DaddyHat that we were expected to go beyond the easy response of, “clean my room more, pass Algebra, listen to Mom and Dad, or make the basketball team”. We had to aim higher and think long-term. This was not an easy task and we didn’t always succeed in our planning ability. Yet there was an underlining expectation to think forward, take action, and share our progress the next time we saw him. If he were here today, I know DaddyHat would still be asking me, “What is your five year plan?”
Whether I’m working with a student, client, work group, or my family the questions that are often in my mind are…where are we going, what do we need to do to get there, and how are going to reach that destination together. If we can answer these questions then a shared vision is created and we have a greater chance for success.
Over the past few years, I have come to realize that DaddyHat not only taught me to value hard work and be a forward thinker, he also showed me how to be a leader.
