It is so easy to come undone and that awareness is impacting me at the moment

The past days of reading the NT News on the subject of  accountability and responsibility have left me feeling sad and bemused. 

It is awful when people who have done a great job in the overall context of their contributions are faced with career-jeopardising issues.

It is even worse when—as was the case for Colleen Gwynne—someone is relentlessly pursued over issues of minimal consequence, resulting in personally and permanently damaging outcomes. 

In such cases, monetary compensation never alleviates the scarring one feels for what has transpired.

During my years in the NT—from July 1975 – I became aware of how important it is for leaders to tread cautiously in all matters relating to their authority. It can be so easy to misstep. Juxtapositionally, it seems that people working at lower managerial levels are treated with more leniency and understanding if they slip up.

Through experience, I discovered two things that helped support my leadership.  

• The intertwining of authority and friendship can be challenging—it can be hard to be the boss of one’s friends. 
• My second support was the realisation that keeping a detailed diary account of all matters relating to one’s work can be of inestimable value in helping to answer questions that may be raised about professional performance and personal integrity.