Step up to the plate, and use the mic

For me to put you the right frame of mind, I need to paint a picture. Windhoek Country Club, the scene of many beauty pageants since Michelle Mclean was the Namibian beauty crowned as Miss Universe.

It is a few years ago, I am on stage for the annual Miss Namibia event. The question is: If you could have one wish, what would it be. I wont answer “world peace”, although I do wish for that. I would answer “for accountability to be intrinsically part of our human nature”.

Now the fact is, that I was on stage, more than once, but I was that black suited arm in the corner of the television screen, handing “THE ENVELOPE” to Michelle to announce that year’s winner.

Even though I was not asked that awkward politically correct question, I would still have no qualms to give the same answer.

And this brings me to the title of today’s blog. Too many conversations over the last week, have had the same spottled vein of tenets running through as a consistent thread. Too many examples exist of where too many people try their luck, once, twice, and before you know it, we have another Fishrot.

And it is not even just people trying their luck. A fair amount of simply not stepping up to the plate to do the right thing, because its “not my problem” (even though it actually is), or because “I’m waiting for so and so to do this and that” as if someone else not stepping up gives you the excuse that you too need not step up to the plate. There was also a fair amount of S-curve answers to direct questions. You know the type of answer, when the person does not want to give you a straight out response, because they know you are not going to like it, and you end up being dragged around the bush several times, believing you still have an opportunity for the answer you want thus robbing you of the time and effort to bring about alternate solutions.

So that is the rant part of this blog, and it is over. As I had said before, I have a limited capacity for pessimism. I also need to point out examples of where many other people have expressed the theory, and the practise, of doing the right thing.

Take Dr Matthias Ngwangwama’s article in the Namibian last week, titled “Blending Everyday Life with Science”. He was conveying the principles of attuned leadership, and the one that resonated the most with my conversations over the last week, was

“being attuned to the moral imperatives of integrity, probity, humility and a sense of efficacy”.

I am not going to delve into the dictionary meaning of each of these words but want to leave with you a sense of the “imperative”. Crucial, urgent, essential, important, must, need.

Another brilliant example of accountability in practise, is the apology from Velchamy Sankarlingam, president of product and engineering for Zoom, after a service failure in August. Long story short, personal accountability was beautifully illustrated by the excerpt from his apology

“I am personally disappointed that we have let you down…. I’m here to get this right and will personally do my best to prevent …”

https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/zoom-just-failed-its-biggest-test-its-apology-is-an-extraordinary-example-of-emotional-intelligence.html

And now I must borrow from another colleague, who acted as muse for this post. After sharing some profound words on the nature of modern-day illiteracy

with our leadership group (admittedly, not my words), Salomo responded with “use the MIC”. So I am going to ask you, in your week ahead, please loudly and proudly declare the need for each one of us to continue (and in some cases start) doing the right thing not for our own best interest, but because it is the right thing to do in the interest of us all. And I am going to ask you to challenge all those in your circle of influence to make sure they are doing the right thing, not the easy thing. And I am going to ask you to celebrate the occasions where someone did the right thing, especially if it was difficult.

Then we can spend less time policing compliance with laws and regulations that can never even hope to catch all those who are intent on their venal ways. And we can “apply a sense of efficacy” to our productive ventures intended to repair our economy, and our world.