Learning By Example

I know you have heard many times that we need to do things the ''right way''. Look after the client, look after the company, follow the process, do the dishes, mow the grass and so on. How is it that we learn what is that right way? Many times it's from someone telling you what to do or giving you a manual to read or allowing you to mess up and yelling at you.

Our newest intern at the office, Ryan, reminded me today that some of our learning comes from seeing others do things and then repeating what you saw. Today Ryan made a cup of coffee, some strange concoction of coffee, ice, sugar and creamer. He stirred it with a spoon and then laid the spoon in the sink and walked away.

I walked to the sink to wash my plate and fork and chuckled to myself when I saw his dirty spoon lying there. I thought to myself, ahh you silly college kids leaving your dirty dishes for someone else to do. After I washed my dishes and his spoon I went to his desk. I asked him in a joking manner, how he thought that spoon was going to get washed. He said he saw someone else do that (just leave dirty dishes in the sink) and he wasn't sure if we had a dishwasher or if someone else did that. He apologized and said he would get it right away. I thanked him and let him know I had already taken care of it.

That simple answer, "I saw someone else do that" really got me to thinking about how we do things as we go through life. We have rules and regs and procedures and blueprints and such to help us be more efficient and communicate better and not get in trouble with mom or dad. But how many times do we do things because that's the way we saw it done before or that's just the way it's always been done without asking, is this right? Or is this the best way? Or will this confuse someone later?

I would encourage and challenge everyone reading this to not be the one that leads by a bad example, no matter how small. Take the extra step, go the extra mile, follow the procedure completely and not just for the client at the office but for your fellow coworkers and your family members that rely on you each and every day. Leading by a bad example shows a lack of respect to those around you and sets others, if not everyone, up for failure down the road.

Funny how something so small as a spoon in a sink can make you think. Thanks Ryan for that lesson today.