Living the Law #1 – We Can Disagree, and Still be Civil and Kind

Have you ever felt like you needed armor when joining a meeting or participating in a discussion?

I appreciate leaders who make sure that issues can and should be discussed and debated in their organizations without employees personally attacking each other. I bet you feel the same way.

So it’s great when we can highlight leaders who achieve great things without being Garbage Trucks. This week I want to recognize the leadership of Ursula Burns. She is the CEO of Xerox. Her leadership embodies the philosophy of The Law of the Garbage Truck: Focus on what’s important; look for, expect, and bring out the best in others; let the negative things you cannot control pass you by; and achieve results. In particular, Burns reminds us that we can disagree without dumping garbage on one another.

In The New York Times feature, “Xerox’s New Chief Tries to Redefine Its Culture,” Burns tells writer Adam Bryant how she sees Xerox as a family—a family capable of caring for each other while they debate. Burns said in a speech to employees, “I want us to stay civil and kind, but we have to be frank—and the reason we can be frank is because we are all in the same family.”

So often people believe that “telling it like it is” precludes them from being civil and kind. Burns sees it differently. She does not believe it’s an either-or choice; she sees it as an “and” expectation.

Would you join me this week in following Ursula Burns’ example? Let’s advocate for our ideas, plans or policies without becoming Garbage Trucks. We can debate—focusing on the ideas—without attacking the people who suggest them.

The next time someone makes an excuse for bad behavior in your organization, you can point to the success of the CEO at Xerox.

Thanks, Ursula Burns. We present you with The Law of the Garbage Truck Leader award this week.

Tagged as: David J Pollay, Happiness, Positive Psychology, The Law of the Garbage Truck