There are people who work for you, people who work with you, and then there are those rare individuals who become so much a part of your life and your business that it is difficult to imagine how you could have done either without them.
Angelo was one of those people.
For ten years, he served as my Service Manager and Vice President of Automotive. We worked together in three different stores as my career advanced, and throughout those years, he was one of the finest executives I have ever known. He was shrewd, experienced, competent, reliable and loyal to a fault. He understood the business, knew his people and had an instinct for what needed to be done. I trusted his judgement, respected his ability and knew that when Angelo took responsibility for something, I could count on him to see it through.
But those qualities, impressive as they were, only begin to explain what made him special.
Angelo was invested in the business, but he was even more invested in the people who made it work. He was protective and nurturing, but he never confused caring for people with lowering expectations. He believed in accountability, demanded performance and expected people to take responsibility for their work. He could be demanding because he cared, and his team understood that. They knew he had their backs, that he wanted them to succeed and that he would stand beside them when things became difficult.
To say Angelo was loved would be an understatement.
As my responsibilities grew and I moved into larger stores, I planned the future of my business around him. We worked together, dreamed together and talked about what we could accomplish next. He was not simply someone I employed to run an automotive department. He was a trusted member of my executive team, a partner in the work and a person whose presence made the whole enterprise stronger. He was just good to have around, and I thought the world of him.
Shortly before I moved to my largest store, Angelo faced a devastating health challenge that would have tested even the strongest of people. His life changed dramatically, and the practical obstacles he faced were considerable. Yet what I remember most is not the hardship itself, but the way he responded to it.
Angelo approached his circumstances with determination, a deep faith in God and an abiding love for his family. He was not interested in being defined by what had happened to him. He wanted to find a way forward. If anything, he seemed more concerned about how his circumstances might inconvenience the people around him than about what he himself was enduring.
That was Angelo. Even when life dealt him a terrible hand, his first instinct was to think about everyone else.
My response to him never changed. He was, and would remain, a critical part of my executive team. We would find a way to accommodate his physical challenges and make his return to the new store as seamless as possible. My responsibility was to ensure he had the support he needed to regain his independence and continue doing the work he loved.
I was fortunate to be in a position to provide him with a van that allowed him to drive while remaining in his wheelchair. It was a practical solution to an enormous challenge, but it meant something more to me. Angelo had given so much to me and to the business over the years. If there was something I could do to make his life a little easier and help him get back to the work and the people he loved, then it was the least I could do.
Before long, Angelo was back at the helm, setting up a new automotive shop, organizing his staff and preparing to deliver the ambitious performance numbers we had set for the business. He was doing what he had always done. He was leading, building, solving problems and taking care of his people.
It was a remarkable thing to witness. Angelo had every reason to focus on the obstacles in front of him, yet he was already looking ahead, thinking about his team and planning for the future. He had not lost his sense of purpose, and he had certainly not lost his commitment to the people who depended on him.
Life was beginning to feel normal again when he was confronted with another serious health challenge. Once again, the future became uncertain, and once again, Angelo showed the same concern for others that had defined him throughout our years together.
He worried about his family. He worried about his staff. He worried about me.
I can still hear him saying, “Hey Boss. I'm feeling much better, but more importantly, how are you doing?”
Think about that for a moment. Here was a man facing enormous personal challenges, and he was asking how I was doing. He wanted to reassure me. He wanted me to know he was managing. He wanted to make sure that the people he cared about were all right.
That small exchange says more about Angelo than any list of professional accomplishments ever could.
We lost Angelo shortly afterward.
I am not sure that you ever entirely recover from losing someone who occupied such a large place in your life. Some people leave a vacancy that can be filled. Others leave a space that remains because what they brought to your life cannot be replicated. Angelo was the latter.
I still think of him often. I think of his judgement, his loyalty, his determination and the extraordinary affection he had for the people around him. I think of the way he continued to lead when circumstances could easily have overwhelmed him. I think of his faith, his love for his family and the concern he showed for others even when he was the one who needed looking after.
I also think about what leadership really means.
We spend a great deal of time talking about strategy, financial performance, productivity, accountability and results. All of those things matter. Angelo understood them as well as anyone. But he also understood something that can be harder to measure. Leadership is about the people who trust you, the people you develop, the people you stand beside when life becomes difficult and the people who know, without having to ask, that you will not abandon them when circumstances change.
Angelo gave that kind of leadership to me and to his team. His loyalty was not simply to a position or a paycheque. It was personal. He cared deeply, and he demonstrated that care through his actions.
I was blessed to have him in my life, and I hope he knew how much he meant to me. I am grateful that our paths crossed, grateful for everything he taught me and grateful that, in some small way, I was able to help lighten his load when life became so difficult.
I wish I could have done more. That is perhaps the feeling we are left with when someone we love is taken from us. We look back and wonder whether we said enough, did enough or made it clear enough how much they mattered.
But I know this. Angelo changed my life. He made me a better leader, a better employer and, I hope, a better person. He reminded me that success is not measured only by what we build or what we achieve, but by the people who stand beside us and the difference we make in one another's lives.
I will be forever grateful that I had the privilege of working with him, learning from him and calling him my friend.
Some people are remembered for what they accomplished. Angelo will always be remembered by me for who he was.
And that is a legacy no hardship and no passing of time can take away.