A500.2.3.RB_SharpJosh

Standards

When you find yourself in a leadership position, either through a promotion or a natural tendency to lead, you come to realize that your standards may be a large reason for your position.  So, ask yourself, "what standards define me as a leader?"  The standards can be one of the critical thinking standards, like clearness, accuracy, importance, relevance, sufficiency, depth, breadth, and precision (Nosich, 2012).  There are also non-critical-thinking standards, which can be almost anything.  If your standards are non-critical-thinking standards, then take a moment to find a connection to a critical-thinking standard.

For me, two of my most treasured standards are commitment and reliability.  I mention them together because one without the other still falls short.  Doing what you say you're going to do and doing it when you say you're going to do it.  They weren't always standards that I held, though.  When I was coming up as a young airman in the Air Force, I did a lot of "thinking out loud."  I could be frequently heard saying something like, "I'm going to..." or "I will..." without any intention of actually following through.  That was fine until I had a supervisor that had the standard of doing what you say you're going to do.  He started holding me to my word.  After a few rough counseling sessions, it became clear to me that when I said I was going to do something, it was important that I actually follow through with it.  It forced a change in my behavior, as well as my thought process.  During a conversation with someone, before I would blurt out "I will do that!" I would stop and think.  Is this something I can do?  Is this something I can produce at an acceptable or superior quality?  Can I do this by the deadline?  If there isn't a deadline, how quickly can I get it done?  Once I started thinking in this manner, I later became known as someone who gets things done and who does what they say they'll do.

As I mentioned before, it's good to look for a connection between your non-critical-thinking standards and the critical-thinking standards.  To me, the standards of commitment and reliability relate to the critical-thinking standards of consistency and clearness.  If you are saying what you mean, and you regularly do what you say you'll do, then you're thinking is clear and consistent.  Not only did I develop these standards over time, but they became a part of my way of thinking.  Now, I hold others to this same standard, regardless of whether they are a subordinate or a superior.

Reference

Nosich, G. (2012).  Learning to Think Things Through: A Guide to Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum (4th Edition). Pearson HE, Inc. Kindle Edition.