I had a kind, good person at work send me an email today concerned about some things I had said recently. She feared that my remarks could be harmful if taken in a way that pitted one group against another. While that was not my intent in making the remarks, I can certainly understand where she was coming from. I thanked her for the comments and the manner in which she shared them and felt duly and appropriately chastised. I was reminded that it is difficult trying to find that balance between being a change agent affecting how communication happens in a large company while maintaining good working relationships with all, including those with whom you disagree.
It is amazing how open to correction one can be when coming from a trusted source whom you respect and with whom you have a good relationship. Had the same email come from someone I regularly did battle with, I would not have been as receptive to the correction.
None of us is perfect. Far from it. We have our strengths and we have our weaknesses. We like to be reminded of and praised for our strengths, but as a rule we don’t care much for others pointing out where we fail. Still, we need people who will do that in a kind and gentle way. As a former pastor of mine used to say, it’s like someone throwing a velvet-covered brick at you – not as hurtful as the raw brick by itself, but it still packs a wallop.
I’ll take the words of this colleague to heart and try to be more mindful of how my words influence others, for good or bad. I thank her for today’s leap year lesson #347: Humble pie tastes bad, but it’s good for you.
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