A humble person doesn’t shout and say, ‘Look what I accomplished.’ Accomplishments are like humility; people will recognize them by results. By watching Mr. Scott, our boss, I see how his humility helps others grow. Because it’s not about him, others receive credit and try harder. Everyone trying harder is good for our business. Humility grows a good environment. I’ve worked for a manager who was just the opposite. Everything was about him. His behavior did not encourage effort, but stifled it.
“The final word is temperament because Mr. Scott would discuss with me the importance of managing with an even temperament. When I would get angry, people never knew which version of me they would get. This had caused many not to approach me or to keep things from me. I had been blind to it. Working on my temperament was important. Defined as ‘the manner of thinking, believing, or reacting characteristic of a specific individual,’ I wanted to work on my temperament and I wanted mine to include meekness and humility. That is why I included these three words together. Posting the words helps me and our staff. By employees seeing my focus, we earn their buy-in and their participation. I work on my even temperament daily. By this exercise, it’s becoming more automatic.”
“That is great stuff. How would you relate this to cause and effect?” I asked.
“Simple.” Mr. Anthony replied. “My anger was caused by my pride, arrogance, and shortsightedness. I was blind to the effect. Because of my outbursts, I caused my staff and employees to hold back their communications, etc. So, the result or effect was that we probably didn’t handle many situations as early as possible. Think about it. Situations will not hide themselves but will always surface. By the time I discovered the situation or someone else brought it to me, it was probably worse than it should have been. It made us operate less efficient.
“Another effect it caused was my staff and I lacked enjoyment of our jobs. One person can affect many. If your people aren’t enjoying their job and feel like they are not a part of a team, your environment suffers as well as efficiency. My growth, as well as my staff’s, was being held back. Other departments and their employees suffered. Our efficiency and productivity are vital to our business. I see it so clearly now as our correction, both mine and my staff, have caused the opposite effect. Our productivity and efficiency have improved productivity and efficiency everywhere. Individuals on my staff have grown in their roles. I’ve seen the cause and effect from both perspectives. I like this perspective better.”
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