This was one of the very first lessons I was taught as a young Army officer, many year ago, and I’ve never forgotten it.
“No tired eyes in this unit, Lieutentant. If you see someone doing something wrong, correct them. If you see something out of place or improper, fix it or tell someone who can. If you see a piece of trash on the ground in the parking lot at the Commissary, pick it up and put it in the trash can.”
Over time I learned that it was the smallest things, the things that no one would ever know you did, that had the most impact when someone did see you doing it.
‘The standard you walk past, is the standard you accept’ – Chief of the Army, Lieutenant-General David Morrison
Nobody else is going to fix a hard or complex issue for you. There’s no natural or historical progression to solve the hard problems. Inaction of itself can be a barrier to others acting because as leader it signals acceptance. If you don’t like something, take action today. Otherwise you might just end up owning it.
The quote above is simple. At first flush, it seems intuitive enough. The actions of leaders are watched to set the standard of what is expected in the organisation. Culture is an expectation of how interactions will occur in a community. If the leaders see things and don’t act, then they must be OK.
What creeps up on you when you live with that quote for a while is that it sets an exacting standard…
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no straight lines 