As a leader himself, Hooper notes how a strong family network and informal mentors have influenced his own leadership style over the years. In his early years, his parents supported him not by measuring his success but by measuring what kind of person he was.
Throughout his life, Hooper feels blessed to have experienced the confidence many great mentors had in him. They believed in his capabilities and challenged those capabilities by giving him opportunities beyond his perceived limitations, coaching him along the way.