Never Ever Assume

This week I was able to sit in three days of team training for my role at World Vision Canada. I work in the Philanthropy sphere, specifically in Church Engagement and we spent our time reorienting ourselves around core principles, new innovations and our team potential.

During one of our sessions, one of our team members made a hockey reference to explain his point and it jogged my memory to a couple of moments in my leadership that I wanted to share with you!

-

I grew up in Montreal, Quebec and like a good kid I was a fan of the Montreal Canadiens. I knew the history and lore of our club. I knew all the captains by heart, thought Denis Savard was the man, hated the Bruins and Leafs...the whole deal. The story of "The Hockey Sweater" was a deep fear for all my age. I was a habs guy. It was only in high school that my attentions shifted to basketball and football, but I still cared about our boys in a major way.

I am also a black man and and I guess for some, it's easy to assume that I don't like or know anything about hockey. So much so that I have been in leadership spaces where someone would make a hockey reference, look at me and then say "You probably don't get that, right?"

Not making that up!

It happened once at a pastor's retreat where the speaker stopped in his tracks and address me, the seeming elephant in the room, when they made a hockey reference ("You probably need it to be basketball, right?") and once during an interview for a high-level pastoral role ("Why am I using hockey with YOUUUUU?!"). In the first case, I didn't say anything. I was younger and didn't know that I could correct someone for a false claim or idea. The latter time? Well I calmly set them on the right path after giving them some key hockey stats from memory:)

To be fair, I don't watch hockey as much as I used to as a kid. Living in Ontario means that I have to pay extra for Habs games and I ain't doing all that so I'm missing out a bit. I read up on the key guys and try to avoid any and all leaf talk unless they lose so I can chirp my buddy Drew but other than that, it's not on my radar. That said, it's unfair to assume based on anything about me that I'm void of any knowledge on the topic!

The lesson for us as leaders: Ask instead of assume. Make the illustration and let the hearer say "I had no clue what you meant!" instead of embarrassing them and then yourself. You might be surprised by their knowledge and even learn something in the process!

Go Habs, Go!!!