Say it Kindly

Euphemisms! What a challenging concept. My child once asked me what they

were, but how he asked drew an internal laughter lasting to this day. A little child trying

to use and understand big words is a challenge in itself. “Sound it out,” I said, because I

couldn’t understand what my son was trying to say. “Ee-up-he-mism!” He said, with

purpose. I caught on after my wife interpreted for me, and answered, “It is a kind way to

make a harsh or hard point.”

I grew up with them as we all do. Two that I heard quite often were, “For the love

of God” and “For Pete’s sake.” I knew the euphemism referencing God as do most

people, but the one that puzzled my young mind the most was the one regarding “Pete.”

I regularly questioned, “Who is Pete?”

My mom would say, “For Pete’s sake, STOP! Her use of that phrase fell from her

lips as naturally as waterfalls spill from cliffs above. Perhaps it was because I loved

climbing trees, and any tree would do. On one particular occasion, I climbed a tree

where the branches were thin and fragile. I stepped on one that broke causing me to fall

from the tree breaking my arm in three places. The hospital visit, and the bent cast,

confirmed the dangers of gravity, but did not break my desire to climb trees.

After returning home from the hospital, I was forced to wait for the requisite time

for the cast to set, and when mom allowed me to go back outside, unsupervised, I

decided to tackle that tree again. I was about three quarters up the tree when my

mother looked out the window to see what I was doing and she saw me up the tree,

cast and all. She came out of the house and, in a calm, stern voice, said these words,

“For Pete’s sake, get down out of that tree before I break your other arm!” All I could

think was, who and where is Pete?

There was no “Pete” to be found. It wasn’t until years later that I learned about

euphemisms and that “Pete” was something or someone bigger than the both of us. I’ve

also learned that relationships will always struggle if there isn’t something bigger than

the people who are in relationship. So, the question is, “What is the bigger thing?”

Leadership demands relationships, and relationships require something bigger

than two or more individuals to exist and function in a healthy way. Leaders must define

the “bigger thing” for themselves. For authentic leaders, that bigger thing, simply put, is

“potential,” and these leaders seek to tap into potential, daily, by giving their BEST to

the “bigger thing.” 

Giving one’s best means to believe in the power of potential, to endure in efforts

to mine for potential in themselves and others, to seek ways to develop and utilize

potential, and teach all those they impact and influence the promising success potential

holds for their team or organization. So, “For the love of leadership” keep the “bigger

thing” the big thing, every day!