The hard right or the easy wrong?
"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
As leaders we have that inner voice, our conscience or moral compass which guides us. At lease it should guide us. The key in leadership is knowing to listen to it and act upon it or determine if it is something less virtuous like our ego guiding us. I was in Walmart this weekend. By the way, have you ever found yourself in Walmart aimlessly looking for stuff to buy? "Dryer balls, yes! I need them!" That is why they make the shopping carts so big. I left the store and while loading my truck, I found an item the cashier did not ring up. It was one of those behind the door coat hangers which I hung on the side of the shopping cart. Neither of us recognized it as he was scanning my merchandise.
Decision time. It was hot and I was tired from traveling every aisle. Walmart is this massive organization who can afford the 11 dollar loss without missing a beat. Nobody knows, no damage done, not my responsibility to return to the store and correct the cashier whose responsibility it was to catch that item. Wrong.
I've learned to take the hard right over the easy wrong as a leader. I'm certainly not completely virtuous or without flaw. I speed on the highway and cut off people in traffic (sometimes). But when faced with a situation like this, I always think about those that I lead. Could I face them or myself if I took this item without paying for it? We had a saying the Army, "if we can't justify this in front of a formation of soldiers we shouldn't do it." The coat hanger would haunt me and remind me that I lacked integrity and righteousness. And it was not rightfully mine. I returned to the store and bought the item through self-checkout.
Right can be hard. Right is having a difficult conversation with a subordinate for an infraction or poor performance. Right is relieving a person who performs well but is selfish and toxic. Right is taking less of something to benefit others. Often our feelings, desires, ego and fatigue cloud over our thinking and steer us toward wrong. Pause for a moment in these situations and ask yourself, "Is this the easy wrong or the hard right." Driving away with a free coat hanger, easy. Returning to the store to pay for it, hard but right. This may seem like common sense but if we take our roles as leaders seriously then taking time to contemplate this means we take leadership seriously. I'll think twice before cutting someone off in traffic next time!
I'm never too busy for a referral. Know a leader in need of growth (we all are)? Make the connection and I'll take great care of them.
Make it Personal and take the hard right over the easy wrong!
Rob
Rob Campbell