The most recent presentation I attended by an organization addressing what they were about had a rather interesting denouement that went unremarked, perhaps unnoticed, by the others there – including the speaker.

This presentation had the “right” buzzwords: safe, compassion, gentleness, acceptance, consistent values and ethics, nurture, home, community, spirituality, et cetera.

It had warm fuzz stores and pictures that elicited an “aaahhhhh” as in aaahhhhh – isn’t that nice/sweet/touching.

The pitch painted a very positive overview of the organization; the kind of affirmative self-narrative organizations like to believe about themselves.

Been there, heard it before.

Except …. As remarked, the most revealing comment drew no attention to itself or what it said about the organization.

In speaking about Home and home being where the heart is, the comment was made that home for the homeless person living under the bridge was/could be under that bridge or that for their homeless person home was the shelter he found on the organizations property.

Their homeless person, making his home on their property; they did not chase him away or call the police to have him hauled away nor erect a gate to deny access to shelter or home.

All the nice words, stories and pictures do not say as much about these people as their action in granting shelter, a home.

Words are cheap, in many ways even many actions are cheap, but in the simplest, the mundane behaviours lie the soul, the spirit of an organization. In the simple grace of allowing this homeless person to shelter were he has chosen to, lies the true soul, the spirit, of this organization.

For it is in the simple, the unthought-of and the mundane behaviours that the true ethos of a person, an organization or community is revealed.

We all like to tell ourselves wonderful narratives about ourselves. The real question, the important question, is what truth are behaviours telling about you, your organization or your community?