The Contented Cow Blog

Building Workplaces That Work

When my phone rings early on a weekend morning, there better be one hell of a good reason for it. That thought crossed my mind recently when, around 6 AM on a Sunday, sleep was rudely interrupted. Caller ID identified a neighbor as the source of the wakeup call, and the tone of his voice suggested something was seriously amiss.

Without stopping to so much as brush my teeth or visit the porcelain facility, I threw on a pair of blue jeans, shoes, and headed down the stairs. Before reaching the front door, I could hear the emergency vehicles arriving, with sirens in full wail.

Ben Wilson, our neighbor, is a great guy. Behind a faux gruff veneer is a kind, big-hearted man who’s never too busy or too “good” to help out a friend, an employee, or a complete stranger who needs it. Now in his mid 60’s, Ben had been our town’s original fire chief, and later the Emergency Services Director. With the help of a mayor who didn’t fully appreciate people telling her the unvarnished truth, he “retired” several years ago. Arising early every morning now and heading out at first light to do industrial lawn maintenance, Ben’s view of retirement and mine are a bit different. I’d rather do mine with a 9 iron. I digress.

Ben had apparently been suffering silently with chest pain over night, and finally decided that it was time to do something about it. Within minutes of his call for help, a phalanx of firemen, EMT’s, and other emergency services personnel descended on the Wilson residence. As I held the front door open for an ambulance crew, I counted about a dozen first responders already in the living room.

As it turns out, Ben’s call for help had arrived at shift change. Rather than go home, some of the off duty personnel accompanied their on-duty counterparts on the call, and eventually to the hospital. They did so not to milk the clock, or out of any sense of adventure, but because “Chief Wilson”, a man some of them had long ago worked for, and all of them respected, was down, and might need their help. The feeling they had for a man who some still refer to as “their chief” was as obvious as it was compelling.

Thanks to the good Lord and some well-practiced medicine, Ben will soon be back at the helm of his trusty tractor. For my part, over the course of a couple hours, I got a vivid reminder of the admiration, respect, and loyalty that accrue to one who practices the craft of leadership with selfless authenticity. You don’t have to be the most articulate or sophisticated guy in the room to get people to want to follow you, but you do have to be the real deal. Could be a lesson here.

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