Eyes that see the good in things: March 9, 2020

We’ve all had moments of feeling like we didn’t belong. Just imagine for a moment, being born into a world where fitting in was never an option. Michele Sullivan, who has a rare form of dwarfism, shares how her physical posture taught her the most effective relational posture with others. This knowledge helped her become one of the most powerful women in philanthropy. Michele has literally spent her life looking up. As the first female president of the Caterpillar Foundation, she has used that unique point of view to impact countless lives around the world.

Sullivan says that being a little person at the world’s largest earthmoving manufacturer for 30 years taught her a lot. Her early years taught her to be prepared, to be patient, to listen carefully. As she progressed in her career, she learned that to be an effective leader, she needed to really understand and embrace her team members for their unique skills and approach.

As a child, Sullivan realized that she had a choice to make. A life-changing choice. She could choose to tailor her differences into something more suitable for the world. She could choose to hide from the world and live on the fringe. Or, she could choose to embrace her differences, turn them into assets, and recognize that there was a strength within her that could help others. She chose the third option.

“Looking Up” is the story of how Sullivan became the smallest woman at the largest earth-moving manufacturer in the world. Sullivan is a globally recognized leader, a TED speaker and a published author. During her 30-year career at Caterpillar, she served as president of the Caterpillar Foundation and director of corporate social innovation at Caterpillar Inc., acquiring global expertise in philanthropy and public-private collaboration.

Her story begins with her passage from a young person who, in spite of being looked down upon by others, learned to look up: to find an elevated view of others that would change the course of millions of lives.  

While her height has presented challenges that are different from those most have experienced, it has allowed her to see things, literally and figuratively, that others do not.

Sullivan related to the “Home and Family” hosts the first time she knew she was different, saying that her parents had not told her that she was any different from anyone else.

“It was the first day of kindergarten,” she said. “A little boy stood up and said, ‘Why are you so little?’”

Sullivan didn’t think he was talking about her, she said she even did that thing you do when you are trying to see something without being obvious. She looked out of the corners of her eyes to see if she could find the person who was so little.

And then a girl asked, “Why do you look funny?” Then she realized that every kid had stopped playing and was staring at her.

When Sullivan met her mom in the car to go home, she asked her if there was something wrong with her.

“Mom said I wasn’t going to be as big as everybody else but I could still be whatever I wanted to be,” says Sullivan who now stands four feet tall at 55 years old.

With an amazing amount of determination and optimism, she had a 30-year career in business and became the first female president of the Caterpillar Foundation, a story she tells in her new book “Looking Up,” which she describes as a guide to overcoming life’s obstacles.

“When I was born, my doctor in Peoria, Ill. told my parents to treat me like everybody else and that’s exactly what they did,” she explains. “At first I had no idea I was a little person, because my parents treated me like everybody else in the family.”

Her journey, from a grade school math whiz, to chess champion, to MBA, to a Caterpillar executive, to philanthropist, landed her on the board of the ONE Campaign, founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver.

“Being four feet tall, I’ve looked up to people my whole life,” Sullivan says of her book’s title. “I don’t look down on anyone figuratively or literally. I want all people to look up. In these divisive times, we have to come together more. We all have challenges— and most of them you can’t see.”

Sullivan’s doctor told her in second grade that she would not grow anymore and she was devastated by his diagnosis.

“But mom said, ‘That’s just your size, it’s not who you are,’” she recalls. “You can continue to grow as much as you want to.’”

“As I got older, the height difference got more and more obvious,” she explains. “There were times I didn’t want to go out in public. I hated walking down the hall and all the kids stared.”

But her talents in math and chess showed her a new path and she said that those little things started to show her that what her parents had told her were true. It’s not what you look like, but what talent you have and how you use it.

In 2011, she became head of the Caterpillar Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, which invests approximately $40-$60 million a year around the world to alleviate poverty.

“The foundation works on human infrastructure, basic human needs education and the environment,” said Sullivan who traveled every continent except Antarctica to see their programs at work.

The philosophy in her book is about embracing the people in our lives for who they truly are, not for the silo in which society has placed them. She invites people to slow down, to ask more questions, to listen more than they talk, and to be open to the lessons that every single person can offer them.

“Every single person has value to bring to this world. Learning them, who they truly are, is about understanding their differences. Then you will know their value,” Sullivan asserts. “I could have lived a very different life based on my difference that you can see—but I chose to embrace it and change my perspective. I am so happy that I did.”

Now concentrating on philanthropic work and public speaking, she hopes to use her experience as what she calls a “little person,” to give back.

“Growth is never just physical,” Sullivan says. “Maybe physical growth stops as adulthood starts, to remind that us that the growth that matters isn’t on the outside.”

“The biggest life we can live is not an independent one,” she says. “When eyes are all we use to see people, we aren’t looking with every resource we have. People have a lot of obstacles. Many that you don’t see.”

We would love to share local stories about the good things your eyes are seeing.

Stop in to share your stories with us, give us a call at 947-2417 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Or send a letter to Eyes That See the Good in Things, c/o Allison Lindgren, The Transcript 6 8th St N., New Rockford, ND 58356.