Four days ago, I received some bad news at work. Someone didn’t do a good job on a project I deeply care about and I felt anger and confusion. How could this happen? I decided to sleep on it.
Three days ago, still angry, I scheduled a meeting with the senior leadership of the organization responsible for the bad news. I was planning to provide some “candid” feedback on their performance. “I owe it to them,” I thought.
Two days ago, I had calmed down. I started to rehearse in my head my upcoming meeting and realized it would be best if I approached it differently.
Yesterday, I had the meeting. I spoke in a spirit of respect, cooperation and humility, remembering how often I have messed up over my career.
Today, I am at peace. Not so much because I got things off my chest. But rather because an important relationship is intact.
And all relationships are important.
The Ethical Leader 