Top news story this morning is that Bank of America is going to start charging a fee for using their debit card. 20 minutes into my morning internet routine (world race site, fb, twitter, my support account, weather) and all sources of social media have told me this is a terrible idea. Everyone has an opinion, a grumble, something nasty to say, and a big ‘ole notion of changing to a new bank.
I am not a Bank of America customer. Don’t forsee myself becoming a Bank of American customer. And really could care less what they decide to do about their debit card fees. My basic assumption is that they know what they are doing, have some basic business principles they follow to make money, and we are consumers. We can choose to bank with them or not. That is the cost of doing life.
And I moved on to the next story. Except I really didn’t move on. I sat and thought about the mid-level manager that recommended that decision to his superiors. I thought about the bank execs that sat and worked through the pros and cons of the decision. I thought about the marketing team that had to plan their new marking push around this change. I thought about their customer service agents that wil probably take a lot of phone calls from grumpy people today.
I am willing to bet that Bank of America didn’t wake up today and think “hmmm, let’s charge a fee for debit cards!” It is probably a decision that was tossed around for months, maybe even years. Today, strange as it may seem, I have compassion for the people who made this decision. The ones who will never really get a chance to explain to the general public why it is the best decision. And if they ever did get a chance to explain – we wouldn’t listen or believe them anyways, would we?
I learned early on in my leadership on the World Race this one phrase: you will die DAILY on the cross of misunderstanding as a leader. As a leader, your right to be understood is forfeited. You will learn to be ok when your motive, action, heart posture is misunderstood.
I sit regularly with some of the best leaders of our generation. I am in awe at some of the sheer talent and gifting in these men and women. They are sent out to lead others in unfamiliar countries, with strange currency, inherent risks and we ask them to die daily on their own cross of misunderstanding. I love walking through this truth with them.
