While I was working on my master’s degree, I had to interview and write a paper on a local individual I considered a leader. After much debate, I interviewed a leader I had actually never met, but someone who I respected from a distance. As I sat and listened to him, I realized why I was so impressed with his leadership-at his core, he was just a regular guy with big dreams and a big heart.
At this point, I don’t remember much of the conversation, although I have it recorded somewhere I think, but I do remember one thing he told me when he is looking for leadership qualities in those around him.
He said he notices whether they pick up trash.
He said if he sees them walk down the hall and ignore the trash on the floor, he has a slightly lower opinion of their leadership skills. This thought has played over and over in my mind throughout the past two years as I have gotten more involved in the community and stepped into different leadership roles. I think one of the reasons it stands out to me so much is because this aspect of leadership is about who you are when people are not watching. I would say most of the time, no one is going to notice when I do or do not pick up the trash I see in the building, on the sidewalk, in the parking lot, or even at my own house. Honestly, even if they do notice, they probably just think I am crazy for picking up someone else’s trash.
But what if leadership came down to something as simple as picking up trash? Oh I know, it is way more complex than that, but is it? What would the world be like if everyone picked up trash when they saw it? But beyond that, what would it look like if leaders or wanna-be leaders lived their lives like people were watching all the time. Because, let’s be honest for a minute, if the CEO of your company is watching, you will pick up the trash. But if no one is paying attention, you might just leave the tiny gum wrapper for the janitor to pick up.
By no means am I perfect and my leadership skills have a long way to go, but of all the advice I have received, “pick up the trash” ranks up near the top. It resonates with the idea a leader is not made overnight, but in the moments when no one is watching, in the times when it might be easy to cut corners, and in the seconds when you stop to pick up trash rather than simply keep on walking.
