I am President of my company…too busy to see you

Character leadership knows human consideration.  Character Leaders (“CL”) make a priority to give of their time to those who ask of his or her precious time. The CL knows that by opening to another person, they open up to learning, and acknowledges the uniqueness of the person who seeks their attention.  

A friend, reached out via email to the Owner-President of a real estate agency to offer his/her services.  My friend got a response. This is more than many people get nowadays and worthy of praise. But the response was rushed, written in exasperation and at the border of politeness.    In the response, the Owner-President offered evidence of the numerous projects he/she was working on.  The meeting with my friend would have to wait until sometime in October, instead of much sooner, as originally promised. The email ended with underscoring that he/she was the President of the company with many obligations to meet.   The acid test will be in October when my friend finds out if the meeting intent is honest.

I placed myself in the Owner-President’s role. I have been there. I understand that pressing issues need to be addressed to ensure fulfilling responsibilities and delivering results with time constraints.  We have chosen to live a life where our professional obligations set the standards of our interaction with fellow human beings.  When we let these professional obligations continually drive our priorities we lose our humanity. We lose our capacity to see ourselves in other people’s circumstances. What will happen when we, as Owners, Presidents, and CEOs need the attention of a person who may be just as busy or busier than us?

Character Leaders have a well-grounded sense that we all need each other no matter how important or unimportant we are.   Character Leaders will always find a time to see you, to take you in consideration.   I know you will.