I am not a fan of self-reflection, especially if I’m the one who is doing the self-reflecting. However, recently I felt a need to look at myself in the mirror and ask, “Who are you?” It started when a class participant used a phrase to describe me that I didn’t know. When I looked it up, I found it was a pejorative (insulting) statement. Just a couple of days ago, a fellow attorney used an unknown-to-me phrase to characterize something I had done. When I looked up that phrase, it was also described as pejorative. And finally, at a conference a few weeks ago where I was to speak, a senior HR manager I did not know refused to introduce me. So here I sit, looking in the mirror, trying to figure out what it is that causes such responses. Could it be the work we do here at FELTG? Gosh, I don’t think so. We teach managers, unions, and neutrals how the civil service accountability laws work. It couldn’t be that. Could it be personal hygiene? Well, my lovely wife tells me I have decent daily toilet practices (for a guy). So probably not that one. Then, I looked in the mirror really hard, and there it was, right in front of me. I am absolutely the least attractive man I have ever seen. The word “ugly” does not fully capture my essence. So as a public service, I have today ordered a bunch of paper bags. I will dutifully wear one whenever I find I have done something objectionable. Consider this my early holiday gift to you. I may continue to occasionally do something that people don’t like, but I will be doing it incognito, for the public good. And if you’re wondering what that second pejorative phrase was, you just might find it in next week’s newsletter. Happy Thanksgiving!
