You don't need permission to do the right thing...

When you encounter something that feels wrong, what do you do? Do you think, the guy that did it must know what he is doing? Do you think, it's none of my business? Do you think, I'm not getting involved in those politics? Do you think, I'll let him hang himself? Do you think, I'm busy right now?

Or do you think to yourself, that looks wrong, I'm going to take some time out and investigate. When you find there is a problem, do you then get involved and try to resolve the situation?

When you join an organization, you sign up to its objectives. If anything contradicts those objectives then your duty is to take responsibility, get involved and do what you can to get a resolution. You don't need permission to do the right thing.

This behavior is a particular requirement for an architect. A good architect will see the big picture when others will not. The architect will see the unintended consequences of decisions and actions. What is important is the action that follows. The knowledge, the contacts, the courage and the influencing skills are critical to getting people to change direction and correct mistakes.

This is the expectation that I have had of the architects that have worked for me. When an issue arises, my question is, what is the right thing to do? And that is what we try to do. Sometimes we fail and we make an new entry in the “I told you so book” or perhaps it should be called the “I failed to convinced you book”.

You don't need permission to do the right thing but you may need friends and political skills.