During an executive program that I was leading in Canada, I noticed that each civil engineer there was wearing a small iron ring on their little finger and asked them about the significance of the ring. They proceeded to tell me about The Ritual of the Calling of the Engineer (interestingly developed with the help of the poet Rudyard Kipling), which is an obligation ceremony that takes place after graduation. Legend has it that each ring is made of steel from the Quebec Bridge that collapsed in 1907 because the engineers were negligent. The iron ring is worn on the little finger of their signature hand to constantly remind them of their responsibility to the public.
Imagine if every leader in your organization were to participate in a ceremony titled The Calling of the Leader; a ceremony where they would commit to serve your organization’s short- and long-term interests, by building high-trust relationships with the customers, the employees, the shareowners, and the community. What if you could become leaders only if you promised to adhere to a set of professional and ethical standards for your craft?
The only way to honor The Calling of the Leader would be to learn how to Lead Oneself, Lead Others, and Lead Organizations. And the only way to achieve mastery would be to integrate those three “O’s”—I think of them as the three rings—into one leadership ring.
