As the Shirley Sherrod story unfolded last week, many thoughts came to mind.
She was a USDA employee who was fired from her job after being accused of racism based on video clips from a speech she gave.
Upon further review it was revealed that she was telling a story of redemption and transformation. She was offered another position. The clips were used out of context and a rush to action was taken without knowledge of the full story.
In our fast paced world, speed is often valued over consideration. We think we have to react to emails instantly rather than stepping back to respond with thought and consideration.
In the interest of speed we can rush to judgment without taking time to get all sides of a situation.
We may not ask enough questions to get the full context, especially if we have a pre-conceived perspective. We may assume that the customer is always right or our favorite colleague could not have done or said something inappropriate.
Ms.Sherrod’s story played out on the national stage. We can learn from her experience to slow down, take time to ask questions, see all sides and get a full picture before we rush to judgment and action.