Rules Are For You Too

For those of you who subscribe to my weekly ezine, today’s blog title may have you raising your eyebrows in confusion (and for those of you who don’t, you can sign up for this information-rich publication at www.stellarccc.com).  In this week’s ezine, which went out yesterday, I shared my thoughts around “fairness” — what exactly it means to be “fair” when it comes to the implementation of rules.  The upshot of what I said was that fairness is less about equality and sameness, and more about individualized application.  And I maintain that.

That being said, I want to address the concept of rules as it relates to leadership.  I’ve had the opportunity to observe a leadership scenario that caught me off guard.  Truthfully, it irked me.  The specific scenario is less important than the general behaviour, which was that the leader in question was deliberately ignoring some clearly laid out rules.  Everybody else in the venue was expected to adhere to the rule — namely, to keep side-chatter to a minimum during a presentation — while this individual held many conversations with little perceived regard for those performing or for those around him who were watching.  Admittedly, this leader’s role at the event was one of evaluation — and seeking input from his peers was part of the evaluation process, I’ve no doubt about it.  However, when a rule is clearly laid out that says “no conversations while in the theatre” — my understanding is that every effort must be made to respect the underlying intention o the rule, which is to keep distractions — both for performers and viewers — to a minimum.

So, in light of yesterday’s article about “fairness being that everyone gets what they need”, how do I align this scenario noted above? Should the leader be above the stated rule?  My sense is not.  Instead, as a leader, rather than pretending that the rule doesn’t apply to you, that your job is too important to merit your adherence to the rule, there’s something about putting structures in place that allow you to meet your needs — such as speaking with your colleagues during the performance — without flaunting in the face of others that you are not following this rule.  In other words, while getting what you need is important, you want to be able to have your need met without placing you outside the context of the rule or rules at hand.

Bottom-line:  at times, leadership will require certain tasks of you that may not align perfectly with the general rules or protocols that are established in your system.  This is not a problem, so long as you address your individual needs in such a way that allows you to do what you need to do without seeming that you are somehow above or outside of rules or protocols.  Because when it comes right down to it, the rules are for you too.

What do you think about rules?  Share your thoughts here in this blog forum, or email me at info@stellarcc.com.