I was a little. I wasn't popular when I was young. By the time I got to college, oh, it was a new me, right? Ryan Green turned into Rod G. I was living a life. I was a big man on campus. I was enjoying life. Frat guy. Then I went home for summer, and that summer, I got a job. There was an assistant manager there named Terry who. She was my age, 2021, something like that. And she had a boyfriend who was a drug dealer. So I was like, well, Terry was off. Cause I'm like, I'm mess with no. No drug dealers. I mess with no crazy people like that. Apparently, Terry didn't live by the same code. She liked crazy. So Terry and I began a relationship.
Summertime goes, do our thing, go back to school. Cool. I'm back at Hampton. Thanksgiving break comes, I go home, see Terry again. Me and Terry have time together. A few months later, I get that phone call. So y'all have had the phone call, too, right? Either y'all have had it or you made it, right? I don't have to say. I had to speak the unspoken. We understand where I'm going, right? So we had some conversations. We were like, whoa. Whose is it? So anyway, it happened. Everything worked out but the fear and the angst and just wondering all that time what the truth was. And her having to live with that was stressful.
And that's where I learned this leadership lesson, that if you cheat, eventually it will catch up with you. Integrity is who you are when no one is looking. See, it's easy to be a good person. It's easy to follow the rules when everybody's there watching you. But integrity is who are you when no one else is watching. Who are you when you're in the room by yourself, when the end of the year report is due and only you will know if you fudge those numbers, when that resident is complaining about something in their unit and you know you can fix it, and you know they're telling the truth, but you just like, huh? I don't like the way they talked to me last month, so I'm gonna let them wait.
That's the crux of leadership. It's about the decisions you make when there's no one else to hold you accountable but yourself. The story with Terry is a reminder that shortcuts and dishonest actions may seem easier in the moment, but they will always come back to haunt you. Leadership isn't just about making the right choices when the spotlight is on you. It's about the integrity you exhibit when no one else is looking.
I shared this story because we've all had moments where we've thought about taking the easier route, where we've considered bending the rules because we thought no one would find out. But the lessons we learn from those experiences are invaluable. When you build your foundation on honesty and integrity, even in the smallest decisions, you set yourself up for lasting success.
I encourage you all to reflect on your own leadership and the choices you make daily. Are you maintaining your integrity in both big and small decisions?
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Ryan C. Greene
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