“Among all the elaborate and exhaustive discussions of philosophers on serious and important subjects it appears to me that nothing is more generally useful than the principles of duty they have given to the world. All our affairs, public or private, civil or domestic, our personal conduct, our social transactions, inevitably fall within the province of duty. In the observation of duty lies all that is honorable.” (Cicero, “On Moral Duties.”)
Duty is something that one is expected or required to do by moral or legal obligation. Getting duty right is worth thinking about. We owe it to ourselves and to those whom we lead. We owe it to our organizations. Science-fiction philosopher Robert Heinlein wrote: “The basis of all morality is duty, a concept with the same relation to group that self-interest has to the individual” (Starship Troopers, 1959.)
Unfortunately duty is only a few simple letters away from being “to-do,” so that the things we have a true moral obligation to attend to can easily become check-boxes on the lists of life. This is especially true for a Myers Briggs temperament ending in “J” (judging) like mine. (“J’s make lists and use them… P’s make lists and lose them…”) The “J” temperament tends to be found disproportionately in leaders, so it is safe to say that this risk exists for many of us.
We have a duty to execute the technical aspects of our roles as leaders. We have spoken before about “core competencies” and these include the range of abilities from managing our in-boxes and running meetings to strategic thinking. Leadership requires us to master the basic skills of reading, writing, “rounding” (executive rounds or “management by wandering around”) and rhetoric. Honing these skills and utilizing them to execute the mission are all reasonable entries on our lists.
But people should never be just “to-do list” entries. I have tripped over this too often. How do you know that you are trapped in this box? It may manifest subtly: trying to work through some Blackberry email during a child’s school performance or when your spouse is trying to tell you about her day. (Bad ideas, both.) But even more, pay attention to whether you have begun to harden in your attitude toward “people-events:” celebrations, retirements, promotions, and ceremonies. Check and see whether you sometime regard these events as interruptions; things that need to be accomplished so that the rest of the list can be attacked and completed. And ultimately notice if you ever find reasons not to attend or participate in events that matter to people because they take time that will compromise your ability to complete your daily “to-do” list.
How do we dig ourselves out of this hole? How can we get back to the right priorities: making sure that people are never items on our “to-do” list? We can start with a focus on the “t” and not just the “do” in duty.
Be thankful. Every event, every occasion, every celebration allows us to be a part of another’s life, another’s story. As leaders, we are privileged to be able to be a part of the lives of those whom we lead. Begin by being thankful that we have the opportunity to be considered and included in these crucial milestones on our colleagues’ lives.
Be thoughtful. We are not going to get to every event. Our schedules are sometimes too hectic and the demands too many. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging our limitations by phone or with a personalized note. We can also be creative: I cannot be there for the entire event, but I want to stop by just before the ceremony starts or immediately after to extend my personal congratulations and regrets for not being a part of the entire celebration.
Be there. If we are able to attend, let’s give the event our entire attention. Let’s fuss less about where we were seated or whether we received the recognition we were due and focus instead on the significance of the event for the participants. Be present to those who are present, put away our Blackberries and the tendency to use public events as networking opportunities and appreciate the meaning that the event has for those who are celebrating. We will be much more likely to celebrate ourselves.
Put another way; notice that the word “duty” is almost the same as the phrase “to-do.” The difference is in the three letters: “y,” “o” and “u.” We can return duty to that sense of special moral obligation and away from the burden of merely something else to-do by remembering these three letters.
We can recall “why:” we have an obligation to live as though we understand that what matters to our people matters to us.
We can recall what we “owe:” as leaders we have a debt to our colleagues and subordinates to be available and approachable.
And we can recall that the “I” is less important than the “you:” effective leaders put their people first, and undermining that truth is among the greatest mistakes that a leader can make.
There is nothing wrong with making and keeping lists of things “to-do.” It may be the only way to make it through our days and keep on track with the things we need to accomplish. Let’s just purpose to keep our people, their needs and their wants on a separate page.
Chuck Callahan Henry V 4.3 – Lead from the Front https://henryv43.wordpress.com/
Henry V 4.3 