Our Kind of Leader

I watched an incredible leader at work the other day. And I’m still touched by the experience.

I was catching a flight from Dallas to Atlanta, as I was in the middle of a weeklong business trip. It was the end of the day, and everyone on the plane was ready to get home. You could see it in their eyes. I had just settled into reading a magazine I’d been carrying with me for four days, when I saw a gentleman come out of the first class cabin to talk to the woman sitting in front of me.

He was probably 35 years old, and he had this gentle way about him. He was carrying his cell phone on his waist and holding the earpiece in his hand. You could tell he had a lot going on in his life — he just had that look — but you wouldn’t know it by his presence. Not at all.

It turns out this woman works for him, and he wanted to know how she was planning to get home once the plane landed. She told him her husband was picking her up at the airport.

The coolest thing happened that caused me to stop reading and listen in on their conversation. He said, “Why don’t I drop you off? I have a car service waiting for me when we land, and it’ll save your husband a trip through that horrible traffic. You’ve worked so hard on this trip for me. Its the least I can do.”

He proceeded to ask her if she had a cell phone, and when she said her battery was dead, he immediately called the husband on his phone. You should have seen her face during all this. He was making her feel like a queen, and she was touched by his kindness. And yes, so was I.

When was the last time you witnessed a gracious leader in action? This guy went out of his way to take care of his employee. Of course I have no idea if she just closed a huge account or if she saved a disheartened customer. Heres what I do know: This is a leader who really cares about his people.

Its one thing to talk about taking care of your team, but its quite another to actually do it. When was the last time you went out of your way to do something kind for one of your staff members? Ah yes, I know. Its been a long time. Thats the real problem in our crazed, fast-paced world. We forget to invest the energy to let people know how much we honor and appreciate them.

I’m guilty of this more times than I care to admit. I sometimes get so charged up to delegate off a task that I fail to ask my staff how they’re doing in their lives. Instead, I jump right into the projects that have to be completed. (Go on, you can admit you do the same thing.) There are times when my calendar is so jammed; I cut off conversations to rush off to something else. (Yeah, like you’ve never done that before.) Other times I forget to say thank you for a job well done. Or give a special something just to say how much I appreciate their effort because I’m already off focused on something else. (Sounds familiar?)

You know, this behavior can be found in long-term marriages as well as showing up with your team. When you’re with someone every single day, it’s easy to take him or her for granted. Its easy to think you’ll make it up to them when things aren’t so hectic or busy. The next thing you know they’re leaving for something better, and you wonder why.

What this guy reminded me of was how powerful a kind gesture can be. Its not often that the little things matter the most, but rather the little things we fail to do.

Let this guy I told you about be an example of the type of leader you can be. Then e-mail and tell me about it. I want to hear your stories of success!

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