I was at the gym this morning (I know, I was surprised too)
and as I was leaving the locker room, I noticed two large clumps of paper towels
on the floor near the entrance, several feet from the nearest trash can. Although
I didn’t see who had left them there, I was disappointed by both his paper-towel-hooping
skills along with his general lack of concern in leaving a mess. But it is what
happened next that really struck me.
As I was putting on my headphones and wondering how someone
could miss a large trashcan by four feet, I saw an employee of the gym walk
into the locker room. He looked down at the balled-up paper towels and deliberately
stepped over them. Here’s what’s even worse, he is one of the managers of the
club. Now, I realize picking up trash probably isn’t in his specific job description
nor is it likely a “key result area” of his performance reviews. However, as a
manager and leader within the organization, it certainly falls under his greater
purpose of providing a clean, safe and welcoming environment for members to
work out and improve their health.
What I witnessed was an unfortunate lack of ownership. This
manager didn’t create the issue, wasn’t specifically tasked with coming up with
a solution (like bending over as he walked by, picking up the two clumps and tossing
them in the nearby trashcan – I am sure he would need to bring that before some
committee to plan all that out), so he decided it wasn’t his problem. With managers
like that, it’s no wonder this gym has ridiculously high turnover and is staffed
with entire teams of employees who refuse to take ownership or responsibility
for any issue that doesn’t directly
fall under their assigned scope.
I believe we all have the responsibility to create a better
environment for those around us as well as an opportunity to enhance the experience
of life for those with whom we come in contact. But it often means stepping out
of your immediate circle of duty to do the good you are able, but not specifically
asked or required to do. Sometimes that means picking up the “trash” someone
else leaves behind, so others coming after you don’t have to deal with it. This
is taking ownership in the blessing of life.
Comments
Post a Comment