When a man assumes a public trust, he should consider himself as public property.

— Thomas Jefferson

LEADERSHIP

WHAT THIS MEANS

Taking on a role that others depend on costs you some of your privacy and some of your latitude. Once people rely on your judgment, your conduct stops being purely your own business, because the trust they extended is the thing you are now holding. That is not a punishment; it is simply what the position is made of. Anyone unwilling to be looked at should not take the seat.

Consider one responsibility you carry where people depend on you, and ask whether you would be comfortable if your handling of it were visible. Where the answer is no, change the handling rather than the visibility.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

What did you take on that quietly stopped being only yours?

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