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character

Do What’s Right

April 14, 2013 By Michele Woodward 2 Comments

Jackie Robinson

 

On August 28, 1945, a man made a choice. He had to decide between doing what was conventional or doing what was right.

That Tuesday,  Branch Rickey did what was right, and hired Jackie Robinson to play for a minor league ball club associated with the legendary Brooklyn Dodgers.

I recently saw the new movie “42” about this pivotal moment, and highly recommend it to you. It’s inspiring, and beautifully made, with outstanding performances from Harrison Ford as Rickey and Chadwick Boseman as Robinson.

And the message I kept returning to was the strength of character these two men showed.

Robinson, an educated UCLA man who had served as a Lieutenant in World War II, had to take the abuse heaped upon him and not react – because an angry reaction might doom integration of baseball.

Rickey, a die-hard baseball fan and hard-nosed business man, had to hold on to his vision of a future where baseball was integrated despite the intense opposition he faced.

Why did they do such a hard thing?

They did it because sometimes you just have to do what’s right.

Despite the backlash,  threats and challenges, Robinson and Rickey knew that doing the right thing always pays off.

Today, business is all about analytics, metrics and utilization rates. If the numbers line up nice and neat, the bean counters and money people say we can go with something. If they don’t line up, we tweak and tweak the algorithm until the metrics say, “go”. This clean and clinical approach has led to dying department stores with no staff to run the cash registers, and venture-funded companies whose harried employees each do the work of four people – all in the name of “efficiency”.

But service with heart is not always efficient.

The value of excellent performance based in integrity can’t be calculated.

And deep personal connection can’t be quantified.

Sure, Branch Rickey thought that the popularity of the Negro leagues meant that African-American spectators might flock to big league parks to see integrated baseball. But something else – something ineffable – drove him.

Something important. 

“I may not be able to do something about racism in every field, but I can sure do something about it in baseball,” Rickey said about his decision.

See, he just needed to the right thing.

And that right there is the essence of character.

In your own life and work, you may not be able to do something as big as Branch Rickey did,  but I know there’s something you can do. You know it, too. Doesn’t matter what the metrics might say to do.

Your heart knows.

Just like Robinson and Rickey, sometimes you just have to do what’s right.

 

 

Filed Under: Authenticity, Blog, Career Coaching, Happier Living, Managing Change, Uncategorized, WiseWork Tagged With: 42, Branch Rickey, character, doing what's right, integrity, Jackie Robinson

You Are What You Choose

July 22, 2012 By Michele Woodward 2 Comments

 

You have a lot of options.

You may not feel that way right at this very moment. You may feel rather claustrophobic and limited. Or stuck.

Or, you see endless possibilities and aren’t sure which one to pursue.

Either way, it’s all about your choices – cuz you’ve got ’em. You just have to make ’em.

So commit to good choosing:

Choose the things that feel right, in your bones. Regardless of the naysayers.

Even if you are that naysayer.

Choose to do something today that you’ll be proud of in twelve months.

Choose to be honorable.

Choose, in every situation with another person,  to look the other guy in the eye, ask good questions, and listen well.

And do the same thing when you’re with yourself.In all things, choose to be decent. To be kind. To be human.

And while it is entirely human to want to win, let go of the need to one-up everyone else. You will find that when you let go of the neurotic, anxiously striving need to beat others, you allow winning to naturally unfold. On your terms.

For you.

Because when you’re not anxiously striving, you’re free to push yourself to the place you need to be.

Choices, then, are ultimately about internal drive, not external forces compelling you.

Choosing is about your own performance, not other people’s competition.

It’s about wanting to, not having to.

It’s all about your path.

Yours.  Nobody else’s.

So, choose well.

Choose today.

 

Filed Under: Authenticity, Career Coaching, Clarity, Getting Unstuck, Uncategorized Tagged With: character, choosing, decency, deciding, integrity, making choices, stuck

Content of Character

June 26, 2011 By Michele Woodward Leave a Comment

I’ve been exploring.

For the past couple of months, I’ve been taking a hard look at why so many of my clients complain about the exact same thing.

Want to guess what it is?  Taxes?  Spouses?  The price of gasoline?

Good guesses, but… no.

The single most common thing my clients complain about is a toxic work environment.

And this toxic work environment most often features some kind of challenged leadership.

Mark tells me a story. He says, “The company is doing some more belt tightening. It’s been announced that everyone must fly coach on business travel, even if you’re flying international.” He stops for a moment, shaking his head. “Except, of course, for the CEO and the Board Chair – those guys wouldn’t fly coach from New York to Boston.”

We go on to discuss his exit strategy.

Mark’s not leaving just because of the travel policy. No, that little piece of information is the last of many straws which makes Mark aware that the company has a deep set of ethical issues – ethics which contrast sharply with Mark’s own character and beliefs.

And it all boils down to this – Mark’s CEO believes the rules don’t apply to him.

If only Mark’s CEO understood the essence of great leadership: the rules apply even more when you’re leading.

Applying this to yourself, you might wiggle out the responsibility to be ethical by saying, “Oh, I’m no leader.”  But I see leaders everywhere.  Business owners, CEOs and full-time moms. They’re teachers, cashiers and Congressmen. Taxi drivers, postal carriers and starlets.

They’re you, they’re me, they’re standing right next to you in line at Starbucks.

Like it or not, we’re all leaders, one way or the other.

And leading by example is the most powerful leadership tactic any of us can employ. Want cost-cutting? Cut your own costs first. Want increased collaboration? Get out of the bunker. Want innovation? Foster it. Want solutions? Offer them. Want better communication? Listen, then speak.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream.  He dreamed that his “four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Seems to me like right now the world could use a little ethical realignment.  Right now we could use some integrity.  Right now is the perfect moment to take the measure of the content of your own character.

Do you mean what you say?

Are you reliable?

Are you hypocritical in any area of your life?

Do you give what you want to get?

Are you open to the ideas of other people?

Do the rules apply to you?

If so, then great.

If not, it’s not too late – you can start today. Hey, you can start right now.

Start by adding to the content of your own character.

Each decision you make – hold it up to the light. Do you feel good about it? Does it add to your character? Does it create good?

Step by step, grow your ethical standards.

Step by step, make the world a better place.

Step by step, you can be proud of who you are.

Filed Under: Authenticity, Career Coaching, Clarity Tagged With: character, Dr. Martin Luther King, ethical leadership, ethics, Jr., workplace issues

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