The standard you walk past…

The other day a post came up on my Facebook feed. The post in question was from a proud parent celebrating the fact that their offspring had recently obtained an award as a Scout. The teenage progeny stood there, proud as punch, showing off their new badge.

A lifetime ago, I was a Scout. Actually, back then in less informed times we called them Boy Scouts. I, too, had the obligatory ceremony (although mine wasn’t celebrated on Facebook) at which I was awarded the Queen Scout Award. It was, back in those days when we had a Queen, the highest award in Scouting and reflected many years of effort to tick off the varied requirements. These days, of course, it’s called the King Scout Award but same/same.

One of those requirements, and one of the last ones needed to obtain the award, was an interview with a panel that determined the suitability or otherwise of the applicant. I distinctly remember my interview panel, at which one of the panellists asked me what was the local iwi where I lived. Not only a reflection fo my own ignorance, but a reflection of those ignorant times, I had no idea that I lived in the Ngati Toa Rohe and I mumbled my way through the rest of the interview, meeting the requirements by a whisker and was later presented my award by our, ironically first Maori Governor General, Paul Reeves.

Fast forward to today, and just this weekend I took part in a leadership conference for an organisation with which I am involved. This organisation, or at least the leadership of much of it, reflects a distinct demographic of my past. That is to say, the room was predominantly made up of individuals of a certain age, a certain gender and a certain skin colour. That isn’t meant to denigrate the people in that room – they’re all capable and dedicated individuals. What it does suggest is that the worldview represented in that room is less than diverse.

I was pleased to note that right from the outset, the agenda of the event reflected more progressive modern times – we were welcomed to the event and part of that welcome recognised mana whenua of the location. In addition, mention was made of the maunga and the awa near which we were meeting.

What pleased me less was something that came up soon after. One of the breakout sessions included the classic facilitation tool: Stop, Start, Keep. We were asked, as a group, to reflect on what our organisation should stop doing, start doing, and keep doing to build a better culture. It was meant to be a safe, constructive space. A bit of healthy critique. But when someone suggested – casually, confidently – that we should “stop all the Māori stuff,” some in the room took a bit of a gasp. A few people chuckled in agreement. Someone mumbled something about “wokeness.”

It made me remember the quote in a speech by Australian Chief of the Army, Lieutenant-General David Morrison from a few years ago. Morrison was reflecting on a scandal involving the Australian Army at the time, in this case, one of sexual impropriety amongst Army staff. Morrison sent a very clear message to his people when he said that:

The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.

It was a notion that was rattling around in my mind at that event. Would the opinions expressed be called out or would they be let slide, I wondered?

Pleasingly, there were a number of comments from the floor from people who wanted to send a clear message that the views expressed by some of their colleagues were not shared by all. Comments celebrating the increased focus on diversity and inclusion were regular and did much to rebalance the conversation.

I was less pleased, however, by the failure of the leaders in attendance to clearly and emphatically send a message that inclusion is a non-negotiable requirement and that if individuals didn’t like the new world, they were more than welcome to use the door. As Morrison so eruditely stated, if you walk past action of a less than savoury character, you implicitly accept such behaviour. That goes doubly so for anyone in a position of authority who is able to call it out.

We live in a very different world from only a few decades ago – we are more aware of behaviour that crosses a line and far more savvy at understanding the worldview of others. But this event showed me there is lots more work to do and leaders who don’t push past those perceived boundaries to move the needle do their organisations and their people a disservice.

I learned a huge amount from my years spent in the Scouting movement and I cherish those memories. But perhaps the most enduring lesson from my time as a Scout is one I’m only now coming to fully appreciate: that real leadership isn’t about earning badges—it’s about having the courage to stand up, speak out, and never walk past behaviour that diminishes others.