A Greater Good
I got a speeding ticket recently.
57mph on a 50mph stretch of a “smart motorway”.
I took my punishment like a man (see below) and went on one of those Driving Awareness Courses. You know, the alternative to three points on your licence. Mine was a Motorway Awareness Course.
I thought I was the only person I know who’s been on one.
Turns out everybody I know seems to have been on one. Or two. Or…..
So we (23 men, 2 women – hmmm) got together for a really instructive and (yes) enjoyable afternoon where we learned about Smart Motorways.
They’re great! The Smart Motorways and the courses.
The basic concept of a Smart Motorway is that by going slower we will ALL get there quicker.
So, via a network of cameras and computers, judgements are made about the likelihood of traffic jams (or worse) occurring up the road if we all continue at our current speeds, and decisions are made that are communicated to us via the variable speed limit signs.
Decisions like imposing a 50mph limit now, to avoid us having to stop completely in 5 miles. How good is that!
The computers can see the big picture. We can’t. Without that big picture, we will just act out of self-interest, and mess things up for everybody.
Two reflections on this for our workplaces:
If you are in a leadership role, are you showing everybody the big picture? And doing it again and again? So everybody can understand their place in that picture, and why certain choices have to be made.
And whether you are in a leadership role or not, do you ever stop to consider the impact of your actions on the wider group? Or are you acting too much out of self-interest?
Leaders and led alike, maybe we all need to do a Smart Motorway course.
For lots of reasons.
But ultimately so we all contribute to achieving a Greater Good.