Saying your creed is one thing. Meaning it is another.
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Eagle Scouts. Religion. Freemasonry. The Armed Forces. Fraternities. All have creeds—statements of beliefs, values, and principles. And one of the things these organizations do is encourage or require new members to memorize that creed.
So far, so good. What happens then?
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In other words, some mistakenly measure a member’s faith, commitment, integrity, and loyalty by how loud and how fast that person can recite the creed.
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In some organizations, the dedication, commitment, and faithful adherence to the ideals and values of the organization are based upon a one-dimensional criterion.Volume. If you can shout it, you believe it.
Oh, wait a minute. My bad. It’s actually two criteria. Volume and speed of recitation.
In other words, some mistakenly measure a member’s faith, commitment, integrity, and loyalty by how loud and how fast that person can recite the creed.
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As a former CEO of my fraternity, I often heard and saw this in action. I’d ask members and new members at a chapter to join me in reciting our creed. And then the fun would begin.
Sometimes the men wouldn’t stand up, as is custom. That was and is a gesture of respect for the oaths and obligations we take each time we recite our creeds. Sometimes I would have to ask, “Please remove your hat” because it didn’t occur to some members that we remove our hats when doing something serious, such as singing our national anthem, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, praying, or … reciting the creed. Removing the hat says, “This is important to me, and therefore I am changing the way I am for at least a moment.”
And then I would hear our creed—which was designed to be carefully recited or stated, with emphasis upon all and not just some words—chanted like a dirge, yelled like a cheer, bellowed, shrieked, or shouted.
When that happened I would scissor my arms in the football official’s signal for a timeout and tap my shoulders. Then I would ask, “What is going on here?”
The responses were generally consistent. “Uh, Dave, this is, like, how we say it in our chapter.” Being someone who never likes to let an educational moment slip away, I would begin asking questions.
“Why are you yelling our creed? Do you think the author intended for the creed to be yelled? What is the purpose of shouting the words instead of thoughtfully reciting or stating the words?”
Those were predicate questions—establishing a foundation. The real questions were, “Can you explain those words? How do you interpret those words? What is your definition of ‘values’? ‘Ideals’? ‘Faith’? ‘Believe’? Do you think everyone agrees with your definitions?”
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The irony was that I could accurately assess a group of 140 young men by listening to the manner in which they recited some words.
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For those chapters—those that confused volume and speed with commitment, faith, and dedication—I would keep asking those questions. There were always members who would turn away. They didn’t want to think about the content. They just wanted to chant or yell the words so they could move on to something else.
Sadly, members of those chapters didn’t have to tell me that their chapters had lost direction and meaning. That was evident from the simple act of reciting the creed. The irony was that I could accurately assess a group of 140 young men by listening to the manner in which they recited some words.
Sometimes I would succeed—at least to an extent—in encouraging members to re-evaluate and reassess how they said those important words.
Of course, there were chapters—especially newer chapters and colonies—in which the members stated or recited the creed in appropriate fashion. They spoke each word. They did not raise their voices or confuse speed with commitment and loyalty to what the words meant.
And when members or new members finished I always felt, “These guys get it. They understand that the creed is special and that it is to be a living statement—a mini-version of our ritual—something that can be debated or discussed—rather than simply one more thing to memorize.”
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How do you recite your creed, credo, mission statement, or values in your organization? Is it thoughtful, serious, and appropriate? Have you taken the time to discuss what certain words in your creed mean and how you might restate your creed in a different way? How about practical application in 2014 for words that may have been written well over 100 years ago?
If you are serious about your organization, and you have a creed, let them know you are serious by being serious.
Every time.
Image credit: roberthuffstutter/flickr
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