Glass Houses

 

I speak on behalf of those wo live in glass houses. I know your pain.

In over 20 years of commissioned service as a Marine officer, I lived in a glass house for much of that time. As a commanding officer, the scrutiny from those looking in from elsewhere increased. As a commanding officer on independent duty in the middle of America, the extent of capricious comments on things which most knew nothing about sometimes hit absurd levels.

Thanks be to God there was no social media at the time.

To those who live in glass houses now with special attention to those being bombarded with all sorts of comments and commentary, to include the ad hominem variety, stay the course. This is the nature of leadership in this new and less than civil century.

Stay the course. Don’t take criticism to heart if it is from someone who you would not go to for advice. Let the haters hate.  You took the positions that you now have in order to make a positive difference. Stay the course. Keep your passion for why you answered this calling. Stay the course.

Yes, some days are better than others. The easy decisions are just that. The tough ones are just part of being professional and true to your calling. Some days are better than others.

Hiring, firing, resignations, suspensions, counseling and the rest of the spectrum of leading other humans is sometimes tougher than advertised. Stay the course. Make a difference.

But if I could only tell the rest of the story…

But you can’t. You must play by the rules and the rules require much confidentiality in matters involving employment, discipline, and things the law and regulations say you can’t talk about. You knew this going in. Some days would be tougher than others. Stay the course.

For everyone jumping all over this issue, I get the sentiment and emotion of having someone that you hold in high esteem lose their job and what you know about it seems unfair. I get. We wat to know, but it’s easier to start a rallying cry for someone if you don’t know all of the facts. Facts sometimes get in the way of being uncontested in being right.

To all those who jumped on the bandwagon and started taking potshots, shame on you. This ad hominem approach is the last resort of those with neither the facts nor the analytical ability to mount a defensible argument. It is the first choice of the cowardly.

Stop it. We are better than this!

The phenomenon in play is called dumping garbage. It often comes out in marriage counseling. Things that people have stored up for too long come out in a big dump all at once, generally having nothing to do with what is being discussed.

Hurt people often want to hurt others.  While dumping garbage is common in counseling and now in social media, it does not need to continue.

This is a nation that values everyone having a say; however, we have lost the art of civil discourse. We have surrendered this fine tool of humanity for the tyranny of the mob, even the virtual mob.

We can do better.

I, like almost all of us, don’t know all of the facts of this present situation. The few in leadership positions that do are not disposed to release such personal information because they have rules and regulations that tell them not to, and if they want to keep their jobs, they will obey the law.

That should be a no-brainer.

What facts I do know are that in addition to the restrictions placed on those in authority, there are provisions for some sort of due process should the terminated request it. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure those impacted do.

I understand that the Superman desire is in play. Remember the Challenger explosion. Many Americans experienced this phenomenon. They wanted to reach up and pluck those astronauts out of the sky.

We feel the same when a situation seems hopeless for a friend or colleague. We want to do something beyond what is possible. Maybe that’s to start a cause or rally or something that is more than what we can normally do.

All of this comes from empathy for another person. That’s a good thing. But these things sometimes take on a life of their own and become the dumping grounds for anything and everything that is bothering someone.

The forum seems to be the ideal place to attack someone from the safety of the mob. Those who live in glass houses are the easiest targets.

To those who live in those glass houses, stay the course. You know why you took on this challenge. Do not be discouraged. Stay the course.

Some days are better than others, but you don’t get to those other days if you throw in the towel during the tough ones.

Not everyone is cut out for leadership. It’s a different calling and is one in which you have few with whom you can share your struggles. Stay the course.

To borrow and adjust some verbiage from one of my favorite books:

When all the world has gone a slumming, I wish to speak a word for the man or woman who quietly does what he or she has been called to do. There is no fanfare and the rewards ae often in the age to come.

But leaders don’t throw in the towel when they have to do the tough things. They don’t jump in the fray and sling their own mud.  They don’t give up when the haters come after them. They stay the course.

Along the way, double check the processes and procedures and best practices employed in the course of decisions easy and hard. Continuous improvement is in play even when other’s motives are dubious. Leaders are always looking for ways to help their organizations be more successful. So, see if you can find the diamond in the goat’s…

Very few know the whole story in this case or in most cases. We are not entitled to know no matter how much we want to know. Exercise your First Amendment rights while you still have them but be civil. The whole do unto others thing is for real. It is worth applying to the ongoing diatribe.

Kick this ad hominem approach to the curb and don’t go pick up after the sun goes down. It’s never productive.

Leaders, see what can be learned from this experience, apply it, and stay the course. Many are counting on you to do what you are called to do.

Stay the course.