Taking complete ownership of your outcomes by holding no one but yourself responsible for them is the most powerful thing you can do to drive your success.— Gary W. Keller

As I was entering a local Walgreen's, I noticed a paper cup on the ground near the front door. Maybe six feet from the trash barrel. I picked it up and threw it away, but I started thinking about how many people before me had walked past it and just left it there.

Maybe because I picked up parking lot trash as a restauranteur for so many years it was natural for me to do it, but why do so many people think that a 3-second gesture isn't worth their time or isn't their responsibility? Is it a hygiene thing?

We even have a 'Keep the Town Beautiful' committee and Facebook messages that stress things like picking up trash when you see it. Of course, one of the reasons I picked it up is that it inspired me to write this weblog.

Years ago, when I was in the restaurant business, I learned that you could tell a lot about a manager by walking through the parking lot of their store with them. Not by what they said. By what they walked past.

A paper cup near the entrance. A French fry wrapper in the parking lot. A trash barrel that was beginning to overflow. A burned-out light. A crooked sign. Some managers saw them. Some managers didn't.

And perhaps most interestingly, some managers saw them and kept walking.

There is a big difference between not seeing something and seeing it but deciding it belongs to somebody else. I have probably been guilty of both.

Over the years, I've become convinced that leadership can often be measured by a surprisingly simple question: What did you walk past today?

It's Not Really About the Trash

Imagine you're walking into work and there's a piece of trash on the ground. You see it. You could pick it up. It would take three seconds. Instead, you walk past it. Maybe maintenance will get it. Maybe somebody from housekeeping will see it. Maybe one of the employees will pick it up. Maybe it will become somebody else's three seconds.

It's just a piece of trash. No great leadership crisis. Except the trash isn't really the point. The decision is. You observed something that wasn't right and made a conscious decision not to act. Do that often enough and something interesting happens. You stop seeing the trash.

We Walk Past People, Too

Of course, the things we walk past aren't always things. Sometimes they're people.

• The employee who is usually enthusiastic but hasn't seemed like herself lately.
• The new person sitting alone at lunch.
• The customer who looks confused but hasn't asked for help.
• The normally dependable employee whose performance has suddenly changed.
• The person who contributed a great idea at the meeting but received no recognition for it.
• The employee who has stopped talking in meetings.

Of course, the things we walk past aren't always things. Sometimes they're people.

• The employee who is usually enthusiastic but hasn't seemed like herself lately.
• The new person sitting alone at lunch.
• The customer who looks confused but hasn't asked for help.
• The normally dependable employee whose performance has suddenly changed.
• The person who contributed a great idea at the meeting but received no recognition for it.
• The employee who has stopped talking in meetings.

We notice. And then we keep walking.

• We're busy.
• We've got a meeting.
• We've got an email to answer.
• We've got a deadline.
• We'll get to it later.

And later has a remarkable ability to become never.

Leaders Walk Past Things, Too

Organizations do the same thing.

• A cumbersome procedure everyone complains about.
• A meeting nobody thinks is useful.
• A customer problem that has existed so long that people have simply learned to live with it.
• A talented employee everyone knows is frustrated.
• A behavior that doesn't quite fit the culture but isn't serious enough for anyone to confront.
• A problem that has become part of the scenery.

We walk past these things because fixing them might be uncomfortable. Or complicated. Or politically difficult. Or because it is somebody else's responsibility.

That's where observation becomes leadership. Seeing something isn't enough. Observation without action is just sightseeing.

Observe. Act. Persist.

My model for Observational Leadership is simple: Observe. Act. Stay With It.

First, notice what's happening around you. Not what you assume is happening. Not what the report says should be happening. What's actually happening.

Then act. Ask the question. Pick up the trash. Talk to the employee. Fix the process. Thank the person. Challenge the assumption. Admit the mistake.

And then comes the part that's easiest to forget: Persist. Because picking up one piece of trash doesn't create a clean parking lot. Having one conversation doesn't create a great culture. Making one improvement doesn't fix a broken process. Leadership isn't just noticing the moment. It's staying with something long enough to make the moment matter.

Leadership isn't only about noticing what's happening with other people.

It's also about having the courage to notice what's happening inside us—and doing something about it.

Three Seconds

So here's a little experiment.

Tomorrow, pay attention to what you walk past. Maybe it will be a piece of trash. Pick it up. Maybe it will be someone who looks discouraged. Stop. Maybe it will be something in your organization that everyone complains about but nobody owns. Own it. Maybe it will be something you've been avoiding yourself. Do it.

None of these moments will arrive with a sign saying:

LEADERSHIP OPPORTUNITY — PLEASE RESPOND.

That's the problem. Leadership rarely announces itself. Most of the time, it's hidden in plain sight. You just have to notice it. And then have the courage not to keep walking.

Observe. Act. Persist.

And tomorrow, ask yourself one simple question: What did I walk past today?

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