Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Being Brave

When something wrong happens at work, and you’re in a position to do something about it, trust your gut and do the right thing. Your coworkers are depending on you.

By Sue Siemens

I recently held a meeting that went terribly sideways. It was the type of meeting that I’ve facilitated dozens of times in my career as a representative, but this one was among the worst.

It ended in some participants crying and others storming out of the room. The rest of us looked around at each other stunned at what had just happened.

I spent a lot of time reflecting afterward on what went so wrong and what I could have done differently. Turns out, there are many things I wish I would’ve done differently, but chief among them was to trust my gut and be more courageous in doing the things I know to be the right thing.

It’s a lesson I’ve been learning over and over in my life in big and small ways, and it’s taking a while to sink in. Because being brave is usually not the easiest path, and inevitably it will involve ruffling feathers, making people angry, causing disagreement, or disrupting peace.

But here’s the thing about it: it probably won’t cost me that much to be a bit more courageous.

I am someone who holds power and privilege in most situations I’m in. I’m an able-bodied person, I’m not at risk of losing my job, I have a safe and secure place to live—the list goes on.

What I learned again in that meeting is that when I hold power in a situation, those around me may need me to trust my gut and be braver, because they may not be able to advocate for themselves.

In the moment, it was easier to do nothing, let the situation pass, and wash my hands clean of it. But the end result was harm inflicted on another person who didn’t deserve it.

In that moment, I knew things were going sideways, my gut told me to intervene, to be bold and shut it down. But I ignored that feeling, and the outcome haunted me for weeks.

So, I’m learning to pay closer attention to those feelings, to how my body viscerally responds in clear situations of right and wrong, and to challenge myself to be braver about speaking up because my privilege allows me to do so.

Perhaps there are things you can pay more attention to in your workplace. Is there a comment being made that’s inappropriate? Is a coworker being treated unfairly? Is there a policy that’s causing harm to an individual? Is someone not being heard because of how they look or speak?

These are all situations that I think we all find ourselves in more often than we think, if we decide to pay attention. As members of a union that believes in respect and dignity for all workers, it’s our responsibility to be courageous advocates, even in situations where it could make us unpopular, or when the easy choice is to do nothing at all.

Will you be a bystander who chooses not to say or do the right thing to avoid conflict? Or will you decide to be courageous and speak out on behalf of others who need you to stand in their corner?

Being Brave

You might be interested in