Edmond Locard was a French Forensic Scientist, born in the 19th Century, who gave his name to a law that remains central to police investigations today.
Locard’s Principle simply states that ‘every contact leaves a trace’.
Every time two objects come into contact with one another, an exchange takes place, whether it’s fingerprints found at house that’s been burgled; a footprint by the window or microscopic fragments of broken glass found on the clothes of the burglar.
One former police commander believes the principle is helpful way beyond the crime scene, however.
Take leadership, for example.
‘Every time two people come into contact with one another,’ he writes, ‘an exchange takes place. Spoken or unspoken, for better or for worse. We smile or we scowl, we encourage or we ignore, we appreciate or we dismiss, we hold out a hand or we withdraw it, we are angry or we forgive, we bless or we curse, we give or we take, we love or we hate.’
Great leaders understand not only that what they do is important; but that how they do it is equally so.
It was the American General, Norman Schwarzkopf, who said:
‘Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But, if you must be without one, be without the strategy.
Who we are and how we are – nothing matters more in leadership.
Tories take note. Corruption and deceit crucifies trust and therefore democracy. Character matters…
…because every contact leaves a trace.’
