I ran into one of those situations recently. I define integrity
as doing what you think is the right thing even if no one else is
watching.
My wife, Barb, our children, Sarah and Ben, and myself
were going to watch a high school basketball game. The game
was sold out, and our friends had tickets for us. They were
waiting at the front door. We had to park half a mile away. It
was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit outside. We were cold and
racing to get to the door.
We were about 50 feet from the door, and the other three
were a few steps ahead of me when we heard a loud screech
in the parking lot. Two cars were going too fast and came into
an intersection. After they both screeched to a stop, one car
slid forward a few more inches and hit the other car. The front
driver’s door was dented in about eight inches.
I hesitated. Should I go make sure everyone is alright, or
should I go into the game? As I stood there, another man said
to his two young sons, “Stay on the sidewalk. I’ll go check on
the car.” Then the driver who hit the other car got out of his car,
and I walked inside the gym.
As soon as I got inside the front door, I knew I did the
wrong thing. I should have told the man to stay with his young
children, and I should have gone to check on the driver in the
car that was hit. I stuck with my plan of getting inside the door
to be with my family and not hold them up when I should have
abandoned that plan and acted with integrity. I didn’t allow
myself to think deliberately about what had changed in my situation. I just acted fast without thinking.
When to Stop and Think Through What is Happening
Here are six situations when I encourage all of us, myself
included, to shift over to System 2 thinking so our assets can be
applied effectively toward making a significant difference:
• We’re very tired.
• We’re talking about a topic we know very little about, but
we’re acting like we have expertise in that area.
• We’ve been drinking.
• We’re starting to get overly, negatively emotional.
• We’re having fun and making off-the-cuff comments in a
work environment.
• We’re feeling rushed.
It’s possible that in those situations we’re still being effective, but those are six situations where I encourage all of us,
including me, to slow down and deliberately think through
what we’re doing and saying.
We all have assets, but sometimes we can’t count on them
to automatically carry us through a situation. S
DAN COUGHLIN believes any person can make a positive
difference in an organization of any size. He serves as a
management consultant, keynote speaker, seminar leader
and executive coach. Visit his free Business Leadership
Idea Center at www.thecoughlincompany.com.
41
SCORE | 2016 Issue 3
THE