Nora's Blog Leadership – The Individual Journey

How do we protect our own?

Yesterday, I watched the Memorial Service for the dead at Fort Hood. Beautiful speeches by the President, and others, attended by thousands of troops- young/ old, male/female, civilian/military, of every ethnic group, watched by Americans living or stationed all over the world. One of our own took down all these innocent people. And, whatever the shooter’s motives, it is a sad day for our belief in the power of our melting pot, our trust in the collective good will and commitment to the American dream.

Those killed and injured were a tribute to our diversity and to the American dream. They believed in this country and were willing to sacrifice for something bigger than themselves. Young and old, they had been or were preparing to go off shore to protect the United States. Our mutual trust was broken when they were gunned down.

This doesn’t just happen in the military. This happens in our communities more frequently than we like to consider. It is not just about global divides or religious divides. Popular culture talks about “going postal”.

These are systems issues:

• Ignoring deviation-or change in performance over time
• Lack of measurement or accountability to a standard
• Insufficient resources to cope with the amount of demand on the system

The issues the military deals with may have bigger consequences than the issues we deal with every day as we run companies, but the breakdowns, the wishful thinking, working with insufficient resources are everyday occurrences.  When we don’t create and execute powerful effective systems, the individuals within them take the hit.

What can you do today to improve your systems to protect the individuals who dedicate themselves to making your organization work?

Please share your comments.