My very first manager asked me in a room full of peers (in training) what I wanted to do in life.

I replied that I wanted to help people.

He said that I could start right away by giving him my salary and started laughing. And then proceeded to mock me further.

I dwelt on that incident for a long time trying to understand why that was not something to strive for. Maybe it was too ambitious, maybe I was being unrealistic or, worst case scenario, it was a stupid goal.

That was almost a decade ago.

My motivation to help people has recovered back to the original state and I'd like to believe that I have indeed helped at least a few.

I've also realised how close I was to giving up on my goal just because a person in authority seemed to think so. And that has helped me understand why it's absolutely vital to have the right kind of attitude when it comes to being a leader.

Denigrating someone's goal or passion, even as a joke, can have far reaching consequences on how that person sees themself and their goals.

Have you had such a leader? Or maybe you could have been one. What was your experience?

Let's talk