Trust is important to me! I can think back to a time when I felt the harsh reality of just how important trust actually is to me. I found out one afternoon that someone (a friend) who I assumed could trust me, and who I would expect would, given my track record, didn’t! It was such a strange feeling! I felt ripped off, betrayed, misunderstood, and totally and utterly surprised.
The situation was strange because the reason I wasn’t trusted could be traced back to something I was accused of doing but never actually did. What bothered me was the action I never did, was something that wasn’t even in my character to do. It was something that had no beneficial outcome to me, or to anyone or anything remotely connected to the circumstances.
But what do you do in moments like that, when people who you have expected and relied on to trust you, don't? You hope that your character is proven enough for it to speak for itself. But obviously mine wasn’t. You can try to defend yourself, although the nature of the circumstances surrounding this particular situation didn’t allow for that, and even if it did, defending yourself wouldn’t necessarily re-instate someone’s trust in you. You can go public and retaliate, which is the WORST POSSIBLE THING YOU COULD DO! So what do you do?
I’ve seen the new Batman Movie, The Dark Knight, three times! I’ve never seen another movie at the cinemas more than once (I don't think). But the reason it captured me, aside from Heath Ledger’s brilliant performance, was the theme I like to call ‘more than a hero.’ Batman has to be more than a hero, he has to take upon himself the blame due another, so that the other can benefit the city, in a way that only that other can, so that the people have hope.
It helped me make sense of the situation I explain here. You see if I were to explain the whole situation to you (which I’m not about to) you would see that my actions that were both mis-communicated, misrepresented and misunderstood, were for a far greater purpose that gave others hope and strength. And although I got shot for it, the higher purpose was achieved and others benefited greatly from it. So even though I was seen by some as the villain, that was necessary for the greater good to prosper.
And I say all of this to help those of you who lead know that this is what leadership is about. When it's hard, unfair, unjust, and no one will ever know that you had the best intentions, or acted with wisdom or took a risk, it doesn't mean it was the wrong thing to do. Because in doing it, maybe, just maybe you were more than a hero! Even when those you hope and rely on to tell you that, don't.
