How to Make the Message in Your Voice Match with the Direction of Your Moral Compass

“Our present time is indeed a criticizing and critical time, hovering between the wish, and the inability to believe. Our complaints are like arrows shot up into the air at no target: and with no purpose they only fall back upon our own heads and destroy ourselves.” 

- Sir William Temple

That quote seems to resonate heavily with the events we’re seeing in the world today. The desire to balance production and progress with environmental accountability. Freedom of expression colliding with the ever-changing definition of race, color, and culture. Polarized political issues that inspire distrust and misinformation. When the dust settles, we have only ourselves to hold accountable. Sounds all too familiar, eh? 

Hard to believe that quote is nearly 400 years old. Yep - Sir William Temple was a British Diplomat and Essayist who passed in the late 17th century (1628-1699).

When we’re having a tough day on the job it’s easy to start pointing fingers and casting blame on the things - and sometimes the people - around us. We’re allowed to have bad days however we need to be honest about the root cause. As much as we hate to admit it, bad days are sometimes the culmination of several missteps that just happened to add up. 

First off, we need to slow down a little. The current pandemic situation has placed tremendous stress on everyone and we need to temper the expectations of ourselves, and our clients. 

Second, we need to be more objective of our actions on a daily basis. Are the things we’re doing still effective given all the change we’ve seen over the past year? Do we need to re-approach our tactics? Our messaging? Our mindset? 

Lastly, we need to be cognisant of repercussions and take the appropriate measure of responsibility that comes with the decisions we make. In this current state of moral ambiguity, our north star should revolve around what is in the best interests of our clients and customers. 

It’s funny. My grandfather always told me to never point a finger at someone because there will always be three more pointing back at you. Good advice.