EMPOWERING PEOPLE DONE RIGHT

Empowering people sounds easy, like plug and play.

But people who feel empowered know how easy.

It’s a combination of nature, nurture, environment, and education to get it right.

Then there’s the people being empowered.

Do you remember when you first felt it?

Was it the first time you got to stay up past the usual bedtime?

The first time you rode your bike out of the neighborhood?

The first A on a report card?

Maybe the first time you were left home alone?

Empowering people isn’t a light switch to flip; it takes time to build trust.

First you learn how to do the right thing, then you show you’ve learned by doing the right thing.

Over and over and over the rest of your life.

It might sound boring as hell being a goody two-shoes, but that changes when you try your hand at empowering others.

I had a new guy on the job once who decided he’d had enough for the day when we weren’t done.

Explaining how to finish things didn’t work.

“No, company man, I’m done when the work day is over, and it’s over.”

What was the big deal? An extra ten minutes to set up for the next day.

I liked getting to work with a clean slate, not picking up after the day before.

Does that make me a company man?

Or does that make me organized and efficient.

I explained the difference to the new guy, who laughed.

There I was empowering people who apparently had already empowered themselves.

When you’re working with other people and need their help, it’s good to have a friendly relationship.

Yes, this fucker quit on me, but I wasn’t important enough to him to make a difference.

A breach of trust? That’s what it felt like.

More like a beach of faith. This was a good guy, but only until five o’clock.

I didn’t blame him, but made sure I got my stuff done with his help earlier.

I couldn’t count on him to finish a job so I scheduled accordingly.

 

Parents Empowering People = Their Kids

My parents had four kids, three boys and a girl.

They decided we were old enough to stay home alone together one day.

We proved it when the picture window in the front room got broken.

One of the kids encouraged another to hit the window with their head because it sounded like thunder.

Bigger thunder meant a bigger head-butt which cracked the window.

We all ran away and hid, then came up with a story.

A big bird flew into the window.

 

My Dad: If a bird flew into the window and broke it, the glass shards would be inside the house. Why are the shards outside?

Kids: We left the front door open and a big bird flew in and hit the window trying to fly out.

Dad: What kind of bird?

Kids: A robin. A seagull. A hummingbird.

Dad: Which one?

Kids: All of them.

Me: An eagle.

Dad: An eagle?

Me: It flew in and scared the other birds so much they all hit the same spot in the window.

Dad: Your mother and I thought you could stay home without a babysitter because you’re not babies. Maybe we were wrong?

Kids: We’re not babies.

Me (pointing:) He hit the window with his head, and he made him do it.

Dad: What did you do?

Me: I told on them.

Dad: Who made up the bird story?

Brothers pointing: He did.

 

Alpha Birds Of A Feather Flock Together

In high school we had a class called Modern Problems where things were discussed, current things.

My high school years ran from 1971-73, prime time Nixon. There were modern problems all over the place.

After they all shook out, twenty-two people were convicted for Watergate.

Twenty-two seems like a big number that could never happens again.

Everyone learned their lesson.

Almost everyone.

 

USA Today published a well-timed piece a couple of weeks ago, noting that Donald Trump has embraced a crew of convicted criminals as the former president’s campaign advances. The article included a memorable quote.

“With Lincoln, they had a team of rivals,” Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley told the newspaper. “With Trump, you have a team of felons.”

 

Such a harsh assessment.

 

14 Trump aides, donors and advisers have been indicted or imprisoned since the days when the first-time candidate promised that he would only hire “the best people.”

 

You could explain this away with ‘Boys Will Be Boys’ and it’s never fair, but it passes sometimes.

Think of your first Baby Boomer President. It was either Truman, or Eisenhower.

Mine was Ike.

Who do you want your kids remembering?