A man gets hit by a car and no one stops to help?

Facts are, 4 “911” calls were made in rapid order, and police were on the scene within 2 minutes, so all is not lost. But still, how is it that no one stopped to at least keep the man company?

I guess some things never change.

It’s fascinating to me that in a public forum such as LinkedIn or other blogs about personal development, questions about morality tend to get answered in the absolute: “I am good, have always been good, and always will be good. I don’t know who these no-good-niks are, but they’re despicable!” Yet when real life happens, none of these absolutists is on the scene. It’s all no-good-niks.

They don’t show up in research, either. Like in Milgrim’s famous experiment, when good people adhered to authoritative expectation over their sense of morality.

Here it is, in simple terms: want the world to be a better place? Have the courage to do what’s right. I’m talking to YOU. As in, next time you feel an urge to help someone, DON’T LOOK AROUND TO SEE IF ANYONE ELSE IS HELPING. Just help, and if others want to pitch in, let them follow your lead. As Asch’s conformity studies showed us, once a single person steps forward against the crowd, the surface tension holding people in check is broken people have an easier time following their conscience as opposed to the crowd.

Leadership is the ability to step forward when the crowd isn’t right. If you don’t practice it all the time, it’s not there for you when you need it… and it’s not there for 78 year old men who need your help, either.

So practice. And if you think you’re perfect and are above the silly, “immoral” behavior of those in the news, just remember, Hofling’s nurses thought the same about themselves.

Posted under Self-Development, Leadership