I have come to a frightening conclusion

I am the decisive element in the workplace.

It is my personal approach that creates the climate.

It is my daily mood that makes the weather.

I possess the tremendous power to make

a life miserable or joyous.

I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.

I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.

In all situations, it is my response that decides

Whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated

And a teammate humanized or de-humanized.

If we treat co-workers as they are, we will make them worse.

If we treat co-workers as they can be,

We will help them become

what they are capable of becoming.

— Joel Fleischman

Inspired by Johann Wolfgang Goethe