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You need the right mindset to build a better community
Several years ago, following one of our regular trips to Ikea, my better half, Josh, and I were working on putting together some small pieces of furniture from our haul. We had just bought a new house and needed a few things for our kitchen and living room. We each picked a project to work on and retreated to the respective location where each piece of furniture would need to go, and then we got to work. The project of my choice was a pantry cabinet. It was by far the more complicated of the two projects so, naturally, I just had to take it. Josh’s offer to help me with it was met by an immediate “Nah, I’ve got this.” It’s important to note that I went into this project feeling pretty confident. And why not? This wasn’t my first time putting something together. I started with the basics—read the instructions, and sorted the parts.
After assembling half of the shelves, I wasn’t even following the instructions anymore. I didn’t feel like I needed to. I had this. I was confident. I should have reminded myself that confidence and competence are not synonymous. Over an hour later—after attaching the doors— I noticed it. It stuck out like a sore thumb. Riding the wave of my over-confidence, I had incorrectly attached two core pieces of the pantry cabinet.
The top was backward because I got distracted and was rushing myself, and one of the doors wouldn’t close because I had installed a shelf the wrong way. In the other room, I could hear Josh. He was calling out to ask me how it was going. At this point, I was frantic to fix it. I yelled out, “Everything’s great!” and started turning that Phillips head screwdriver as fast as I could to try and correct it before he walked into the room and saw my disaster.
I could have turned that screwdriver at NASCAR speeds and I still don’t think there would have been any chance of me fixing that project before he walked in the room. And sure enough—I didn’t. He immediately cocked his head to the side and smiled. I was visibly upset—mostly with myself. He asked me if I needed a hand, and I agreed. Yes, I did need a hand. No, I did not read the instructions. I got too confident, failed to follow the assignment, and mistakes were made. If I had leaned on the tools provided to me to build the project the right way, it would have been smooth sailing, but instead, I got in my own way and almost ruined our cabinet.
Looking at county politics over the past year—Sunshine law violations and the more recent attempt by the county mayor to sell county property outside of what is legally or ethically correct— I feel reminded of the lesson I learned putting together that pantry cabinet. If you want to build something right, you need the right tools and knowledge to get the job done. You also need the humility to realize when you have made some mistakes—learn from the experience and move forward. Stop making the same mistakes. If you aren’t sure how to do something, maybe it’s time to pick up the instructions and lean on the people in the room who carry the experience and knowledge to help. Besides, I’ve never seen a great leader who wasn’t complemented by an amazing team. Working together to solve problems for our community is what our residents need and deserve.