Human Relations & Leadership Part 2 of 3: Treating Others the Way You Want to Be Treated
October 29, 2008 by dr. lam
As part of our series on human relations and leadership, I want to have you think about how you treat EVERYONE around you. Do you treat the rich and privileged with more respect? Do you treat waitstaff with callous disregard? How do you view the strata of humanity as equals or as those who don’t deserve your attention?
Perhaps the greatest role models for this excellence in leadership are two individuals: my mother and my paternal grandfather. Let me discuss with you their singularly remarkable attributes. My mother has instilled in me that every human individual is valuable and should be treated with dignity, respect, and love. In fact, those who are in need and may be deemed at a lower station in life, she goes out of her way to make sure that they are supported emotionally, financially, or in whatever way possible. She helps all those in need around her with a blind eye and with absolute self-abnegation. She is truly a role model for me and continues to be one in my life.
My paternal grandfather with whom I share a birthday (November 6) was a great man in the classic sense. He was honored with the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) and met with heads of state like Nixon and LBJ. But what made him great was not his wealth, fortune or title but his character. At the age of 50, he stopped “working” and gave over his life to help those less fortunate for the glory of God by giving away his fortune slowly to those in need. He opened a Baptist College and hospital in Hong Kong and truly spent every waking moment helping all of those around him without desire for recognition. In fact, when he died (I was only a baby at the time), many caddies and their family from the golf club came to my uncles and aunts and said, “What are we going to do? He was paying for all of our education including our college.” He made it a point not to share with my family his altruism as that is the greatest gift he could make was his quiet generosity. My uncles and aunts reassured all the caddies and their families that the pledge my grandfather made would be carried through to fruition by them.
The people that I associate with are those who are dedicated to treat all humanity with love and respect. I simply cannot tolerate individuals who hold themselves above others around them. We are all part of a common race and we are all flawed creatures. Next time you have an individual that you treat with disrespect, think for a moment of why you should consider yourself better than that individual. In my opinion that behavior makes you lower than the person that you are treating badly.
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