It's probably a faux pas to write about one new hire when I have had quite a few come through my doors. Each one has taught me different things. Some have taught me patience, some have reenergized my desire to learn new things, and each has added to and helped me along in my personal life. There have been great exchanges of ideas, and I have met some really great people. Most of them have become long-term friends that I enjoy watching progress in their careers and in their lives. But every once in a while, as a manager, you meet someone perfect for a given role.

In my teams, I’m lucky that I get to know my employees very well. I’ve never been a large team manager. I’ve been an IT manager at mid-sized insurance agencies for my career. My largest team has been four people. Today I manage two. I’ve been self-conscious in my past about only being a small team manager. I would correlate the size of the team to accomplishment, and it was a little later in my career that I really started to enjoy the management aspect of the job.

What I find with a small team is my ability to really dig into each employee. To spend hours sometimes discussing life goals and ambitions, trying to figure out what happiness is for that individual, and how to help them along if I am able. I also get to learn from each and find out about their lives and unique situations. I get to understand how each one is best motivated and how to try to get true engagement from them.

Which brings me to Mina Saad. I look at Mina with a little bit of awe, to be honest. It’s rare in life that you meet someone that really shifts your perception and shows you a better way to do something that you have been doing the majority of your life. I’ve had the pleasure to work with amazingly talented technical minds that far surpassed my abilities and to learn a little from each one. But Mina helps me see life in new ways.

If someone asked me to sum Mina up in one word, it would be Kindness. It is all over him. He eats, lives, and breathes it, and it shines through clearly. Every day that I get to work with him, I see him handle situations with people in such elegant and nuanced ways that it makes me want to improve my communication skills. So, if you take me and how I handle a situation:

User puts a ticket in to the helpdesk. I pick it up and go see the user. The interaction goes south. I know it’s some kind of user issue, but I’m not getting the point across. The user is getting frustrated, and I’m getting defensive. At some point, hopefully, I am smart enough to know when to quit, and I would leave the situation and either circle back or send in Mina.

Mina never gets defensive. He keeps taking what the user says and reshaping it to help them get the point. He allows the user to vent, voice their frustration, and doesn’t let ego get in the way. He talks softly and slowly. He doesn’t get excited or agitated. And the way he communicates is in this endearing way. Due to his constant kindness, end users are more available to him and will share more with him. He never loses the connection to them or shuts down communication, which I have definitely done in my career. He seems to spout wisdom like a Sun Tzu of Help Desk. I asked him — “Mina, how do you do it? How, after visiting the same user eight times in a day, do you not just lose it?” Mina’s reply — “I try and approach the user as the user.” It’s simple, essential, and almost impossible to do. But he does it very, very well. He approaches them as they are in that moment each time.

I think Mina would say it was his upbringing as a Coptic Christian that instilled such a gentle strength. I think the way he lives his life, and the example he sets for all of those around him raise the bar and truly reflect well on his family, heritage, and upbringing. Mina’s a happy guy. I don’t know that I have ever seen him grouchy or down. And Mina’s wife lives 6,344 miles away, and they have not physically seen each other in four years. He is the living epitome of choosing to see the bright side of life. That makes it such a pleasure for anyone to work with him.

It’s funny when I first talked to Mina. He had replied to a Craigslist ad (recruiting through Craigslist works, y’all), and we spoke on the phone. He was in a position that I felt was senior to the one he wanted. I asked him — “Why do you want this job?” — he said, “Service and helping people is in my heart, and that’s what I want to do.” Honestly, I kind of thought he was blowing smoke. Six months later, I have seen how true that statement is. He handles humans with such equal respect and consideration that it really does make me try and do better. Sometimes in trying situations, I will take a breath and say, “What would Mina do?” Helpdesks and the world itself would be better with a little more Mina.

Thanks for reading.