It’s Not A Joke
The first thing I awoke to today was an April Fool’s joke. It had me for a second. It was funny.
It also got me thinking about a conversation I’ve had recently about people paying lip service to things.
When this happens we end up with the same result of being potentially fooled by what we see and hear. Except, instead of a one day a year thing, this can happen every day.
Fake news, spin, and manipulative marketing fill our media feeds.
In our workplaces, paying lip service to the importance and care for people, environment, community remains too common an experience.
Sadly, this makes it more difficult to spot the authentic, open and honest leadership and change afoot. We can become cynical of our leaders and organisations, and the critical element of trust is eroded each and every time we are fooled into believing something that isn’t true.
The heartening thing is that we can keep that trust bucket full (and even refill it, if needed) through the alignment of our actions and words.
Speaking up, and showing up in accordance with our values,
bringing people together in the pursuit of a common purpose,
communicating openly and often, and
leading with a generous, win-win spirit,
are just some of the ways we can portray such alignment.
Just like one of the April Fool’s jokes that may trick us at first, we will always see through it eventually, just as we will see those who lead with integrity and care.
That’s something to smile about.