Have you ever walked through a parking lot and seen shopping carts scattered everywhere—left between cars, up on curbs, or halfway across the lot from the store?

Maybe you’ve even asked yourself the question:

“Who does that?”

But the better question might be:

“What does it say about you if you don’t?”

Returning a shopping cart to the corral might seem like a small, mundane task—but it’s one of the clearest, most consistent tests of character and leadership you’ll ever encounter.

The Shopping Cart Test

There’s no rule that says you must return your shopping cart. No legal consequences. No one is watching. No manager is grading your performance. It’s one of the few public acts that’s completely voluntary and has no immediate reward or punishment.

And that’s what makes it powerful.

Returning your cart says something about:

Your discipline Your self-respect Your willingness to do the right thing even when no one is watching

In short, it reveals who you are when it’s easy not to care.

What It Says About You as a Leader

Great leadership doesn’t start on a stage—it starts in a parking lot. It starts with the decisions you make when they seem insignificant.

Here’s what returning your shopping cart says about your leadership:

1. You Take Ownership

You don’t leave your mess for someone else to deal with. Leaders own their responsibilities—and that includes the little things.

2. You Respect Others

Leaving a cart in the lot blocks spaces, scratches cars, and creates work for someone else. Returning it shows consideration—something every great leader must have.

3. You Lead Yourself First

Before you can lead a team, a business, or a movement—you must lead yourself. Leadership starts with self-discipline, and discipline shows up in the everyday.

4. You Practice Integrity

Integrity is doing what’s right even when no one is watching. No spotlight, no applause. Just quiet consistency.

5. You Understand Culture is Built in the Small Things

Teams, companies, and families don’t rise and fall because of grand gestures—they rise and fall based on the small behaviors that become habits. Returning your cart is one of those habits.

A Mirror and a Model

Next time you’re in the parking lot, take a look around.

Where are the carts?

Where are you?

The shopping cart is more than a chore—it’s a mirror. It reflects what kind of leader you are when no one is looking.

And it’s also a model—because when you return the cart, you’re modeling the kind of accountability, respect, and personal responsibility the world desperately needs.

Bottom Line

If you can’t be trusted to return a cart, why should anyone trust you with a team?

If you cut corners when it doesn’t matter, how will you behave when it does?

Great leadership isn’t proven in the boardroom—it’s proven in the parking lot.

Return the cart. Build the character. Lead with integrity.

-KL