Recently I was very direct making a recommendation on a change that I felt was necessary.
I made the recommendation to the group leader. I copied a few other key leaders. I also copied the person who was directly involved in the change.
My first instinct was NOT to copy the person involved. But as I was about to hit ‘send’, I changed my mind and included this person.
Why was my first instinct to NOT include the person?
Why did I change my mind?
I suppose my first instinct to not include the person directly involved political correctness. I said to myself:
- Follow the chain of command
- Don’t say something that someone might find offensive
- Seek input from multiple sources first to determine if my recommendation had merit or if it was something that others disagree
I changed my mind and included the person directly involved because I decided it wasn’t that big of a deal.
I figured the person directly involved was ultimately the person who needed to make a choice. I decided to put it out there and let the chips fall where they may. That is what I did.
The PC crowd immediately came to the person’s defense and condemned my directness. I was accused of forcing the issue and by including the person involved making the decision myself.
The leader held back and waited before getting involved.
The issue resolved itself in short order to the satisfaction of most. And the person directly involved got to make the ultimate decision.
As I write, I’m reflecting on how I handled the situation. Did I go too far too fast? Should I have been more politically correct? Was being direct and making some people feel uncomfortable worth getting a quick decision?
I can’t help but believe that if I had taken the PC route from the very beginning, we’d still be talking about this and the issue would remain unsolved.
I was very direct and change happened quickly. The PC crowd got momentarily offended and worked up. All’s well that ends well.
Bottom line.
Political correctness too often keeps us from simply saying what needs to be said. I’m getting to the point in my life were I don’t have time to play the PC game for every single issue. I’m more interested in making change happen and getting things done.
If a decision is very important and extremely sensitive then I will take my time and play the PC game.
If a decision is less than very important and NOT extremely sensitive, then I plan to scrap the PC crap and just say what needs to be said.
We’ll all waste less time and things will get done. And the PC crowd will have to get over it.
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