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A reliable
person has a track record of keeping promises. An unreliable person shows he or
she doesn't really care about others. They only care about themselves and their
own agenda. Even if their promises caused someone to make a major career move
or a major upheaval, they simply don’t give it a second thought.
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I’ve had
relationships where it has happened, we all have. Mine came in the form of
changing jobs, to what I was told was a better situation. I had to move my
family to a different city, different schools. In the midst of the move, our
4-yr old son called me into his room. He said, “You all can go, but I’m staying
here.” I should have learned from my child’s wisdom. But instead, I was drawn
to “bigger and better opportunities.” The problem was this, I knew the man
making the promises. I knew the way he worked. I knew how he treated those
around him, although he and I had never had problems…yet. But the lure of
greater opportunities, more money (isn’t that always the main motivation?), and
a better life for my family.
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Then it all
came crashing down. Within 2 years my job description changed. Then I wasn’t
meeting “his” expectations. Although I was meeting everyone else’s. In fact, my
actual job and performance couldn’t have been better. I was getting many
accolades. I was getting major raises. My performance evaluations were on
target. But that wasn’t enough. My job description changed five times in seven
years, until I was given a job description that was impossible to fulfill. No
one could do what I was asked to do, not even Superman. So I was tossed away
without a second thought.
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Here was a
man who simply didn’t care what he did to others, what promises he made. I
should have known better. I should have been watching my back. I should have
listened to other people’s warnings. But I put my trust, my livelihood, my
family, and my career that I had spent thirty years building into the hands of
one who was unreliable, one who should never had been trusted.
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My problem
was that I tried to see the best in people. If there is one thing it has taught
me, and it has taught me many things, it is that there is no better person than
one who is trustworthy and reliable. And there is no worse person than someone
who isn’t.
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We need to
be more reliable. Even if we don’t make promises, we should try to live up to
the best of people’s expectations.
