Are you one of them? Have you ever been told that you’re worthless? Has a leader or manager ever dismissed you? Well, take heart! Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team because his coach didn’t think he had the talent. Lucille Ball was dismissed from drama school because she was too shy for acting. A teacher told Thomas Edison he was too stupid to learn. He was told to enter a field where he could succeed by virtue of his pleasant personality. Wait, there’s more.
Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because he lacked imagination and had no original ideas. Abraham Lincoln failed in business twice and lost eight elections. My high school counselor told me I was not “college material.” He suggested the best I could hope for in life was becoming a street sweeper. Don’t ever believe those lies! Everyone has something to offer. Everyone has a purpose. Everyone has a gift. It’s a leader’s job to call those qualities forth.
First, leaders must “see” everyone. We do that by keeping our window on the world, what I call our Worldview Window, clear. As infants and children, we welcome the world through this window. It’s only later in life that our window becomes clouded by our worldview, other prejudices we learn, and through our experience. If we aren’t diligent and careful, our Worldview Window slowly becomes a devaluation window, where we see people as different, not worthy of respect. Or, we don’t “see” them at all.
Why does this matter? Who cares if my Worldview Window is open and clear or closed, or opaque because of prejudice, distrust, and hate? It matters because you have to “see” someone to have a relationship with them. An open and clear Worldview Window is a key component of an ethically intelligent life and meaningful relationships. And, relationships are at the core of your ethical intelligence and ethical judging.
Leadership is a sacred bond. It’s a special relationship between leader and follower that is grounded in mutual trust and respect. As part of that special relationship, leaders are called to serve something higher than themselves. Part of that higher calling is recognizing, often even before the follower recognizes, talents, gifts, and potential. And, after that recognition and affirmation, help that follower develop those talents, gifts, and achieve their highest potential.
So, an ethically intelligent leader knows there is no such thing as a worthless person! Everyone has value and worth. An ancient Eastern greeting, Namasté, embodies this eternal truth. The greeting essentially means I acknowledge the humanity in you, and through that acknowledgment, I affirm your worth. There are no worthless people!
