Wanted: New Windshield Wipers

Treasured Readers,

Earlier this week, my windshield cracked, succumbing to a fast-flying clump of winter’s sloppy something-or-other.   Adulthood has its privileges; among them is full auto coverage.  The windshield was replaced without incident (or even deductible, to my relief).    

The new windshield is stunning in its clarity.  I had not realized what 120,000 miles of driving had done to the old one until it was gone.  The metaphor here is obvious, but that has never stopped me in the past:   What is limiting our vision?  What problems have we stopped noticing?

Last night my new windshield led me west, to the Eden Prairie Fire Department.  I met with the command staff to plan our next leadership program for the department’s 20 or so officers.   Chief George Esbensen was wondering something similar.  He observed that too often, when a serious accident occurs in the fire service, we see – only in retrospect – the factors that led or contributed to the tragedy.  We’ll be working together in 2010 to look even harder at the work of that department, trying to find and share ways to make inherently dangerous work as safe as it can be, in pursuit of mission.   That’s an ongoing challenge, of course, and the first, recurring step is realizing that we will always be subject to blind spots.

As 2009 draws to a close, I am deeply tired of hearing about crimes, ethical transgressions, and their perpetrators.   News flash: many people are skuzzy, some deeply so.  Those aren’t the folks who tend to benefit from ethical leadership programs, either.   Only the most perverse among them are reading my blog.  Their problems are not blind spots, except in the deepest, soul-centric sense.

For the rest of us, the well-intentioned majority, awareness of our blind spots is instructive.  We can often clarify or complete our vision by changing our perspective, by pausing to look at things from different angles.  Most powerfully, we can help one another to see things clearly and truly, especially when we have the trust to ask another’s opinion, and the courage to render that opinion accurately, even when it is tough to hear.  Compassion helps, too.   In clarifying this sort of vision, friendship is even more powerful than new auto glass.

I didn’t get a box of steaks with my windshield, but I found something to chew on nonetheless.  May the coming year find you in relationships that promote clear vision and ongoing improvement.

CAW