Solidarity Sunday:
Something bad happened?
Good.
I'm convinced that being the business manager of a local union is one of the toughest leadership jobs on the planet, and I have an enormous amount of respect for those who sit in that seat. It's a high stress position, and often a thankless one. They are managing a staff, expectations from members, and contracts and disputes from employers. Dealing with pain points is an everyday occurrence. It can feel like the weight of the entire local union rests on their shoulders. I once asked a business manager about the biggest difference between the time when he ran for office and after he took office.
"I thought I had more friends than I do", he said.
So as leaders, how do we deal with that? How do the leaders of a local union serve the members of our local with a positive attitude without getting caught up in the drama and pain points of the every day.
One way is to adopt the concept of "Good". I learned this concept from author, podcaster, and former Navy Seal Jocko Willink.
"How do I deal with setbacks, failures, delays, defeats, or other disasters? I actually have a fairly simple way of dealing with these situations, summed up in one word: "Good."
One of the guys who worked for me would pull me aside with some major problem or issue that was going on, and he'd say, 'Boss, we've got this thing, this situation, and it's going terribly wrong.'
I would look at him and say, "Good."
And finally, one day, he was telling me about something that was going off the rails, and as soon as he finished explaining it to me, he said, "I already know what you're going to say. You're going to say: 'Good.' That's what you always say. When something is wrong or going badly, you just look at me and say, 'Good.'
And I said, "Well. I mean it. Because that is how I operate." So I explained to him that when things are going bad, there's always going to be some good that will come from it.
We can't always get what we want but we can always change our listening and attitude such that something good will come of it. It gives us courage to take on difficult tasks and conversations knowing that something good will result. It works when addressing things that go wrong in our local union, in our relationships, in our families:
An untruth circulating on social media about the contract?
Good - it gives us an opportunity to touch base with our steward on that job to support them, locate the source and address the complaint.
Got escorted off a jobsite while organizing?
Good - we can brainstorm more creative ways to reach them that the employer can't stop.
A young member complaining about the policies of the Local getting some traction online?
Good - maybe they've got some ideas we need to hear, so let's get them involved as a young leader in the local union.
Someone acting erratic at work?
Good - maybe that's a sign we need to reach out to our brother or sister who could be going through a painful time and we can support them to get help.
This simple shift in how you listen and approach things can change your life. It did mine. After a client and business manager called me out on a mistake I made, I said "Good…we can adopt better project management tools so this never happens again."
There can always be something good that comes from something bad. Is your Local not where you want it to be? Good. Let's work on it making it better together.
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