The pool was packed, and the pool deck resembled a makeshift dance floor as the music blared across campus. I was one of the lifeguards at our campus pool party when I was a sophomore in junior college.

I always prided myself on paying attention, listening, and handling things quickly and efficiently. My boss, Murph, put a lot of trust in the small group of us who worked there.

The party was getting later and a little more rambunctious. Murph felt someone was going to get hurt, so he called me over. “Scott, I need you to go inside and make an announcement on the loudspeaker for people to stop pushing people in the pool.”

“Yes, sir! I’m on it!” I was pleased to have a special assignment, so I ran inside and handled my business.

Approximately three minutes later, I heard Murph’s voice again. “Scott! Come here a minute.”

Soaked and breathing heavily, I approached my stoic boss, believing I was about to get another assignment that could only be performed by yours truly. Because of the music volume, I leaned in. “Yes, sir?”

“Scott, do you remember when I asked you to make the announcement about not pushing people in?”

Defensively, I said, “Yes, sir! I made that announcement!”

Calmly, Murph responded with a smile. “Oh, I know. You did a great job, too. But do you remember what you did right after that?”

I stood erect and thought. After a moment of reflection, I couldn’t imagine what he was talking about. “What do you mean?

“You made the announcement about not throwing people in, walked straight back out here, picked up that girl in the red bikini,” as he pointed, “and threw her in the pool!”

~~~~~~~~~~

As leaders, we have a responsibility to be good at paying attention. Sometimes, “paying attention” means we even need to pay attention to ourselves.