Over the past few years my air travel has increased significantly. I’m no George Clooney who was banking 325,000 air miles a year in Up in the Air. I only knock out about 55,000 miles a year. One of the perks that come with being a frequent flier is status. You see status is the golden ticket to traveling the right way, and last year I had it for the first time with a certain airline whose headquarters are in my lovely town of Atlanta. One of the best parts is the free up grades. I sit up front about 60-70% of the time now and absolutely love it. I get to board first, deplane first, enjoy actual leg room, get unlimited beverages, a much better menu of food and snacks, and have unlimited access to movies on domestic flights (after my work is done…of course!). First class is where it’s at. Therefore as I sit here sighing and relaxing with delight, I can’t help but think of the parallels of this great perk and leading the right way.Leadership is service (Check out James Hunter’s classic The Servant. It’s a great leadership fable of what is at the heart of true leadership). What I love about sitting up front is the fact that I get served like a Greek god. Whatever I want I receive along with a, “Certainly sir” or “Absolutely, right away sir.” which just turns my crank. In fact the flight attendant just walked by asking if I want any more snacks. I declined because I already had a banana and a Twix bar….I really don’t need another one…right? Anyway, if we are truly leading we’re serving. I don’t mean doing things for your crew because we have to but instead because we want to – it’s our heart’s desire.
So what would happen if I served my team like they were clients sitting in first class? What would it look like? I am not saying we give them what they want all the time. What I am saying is we encourage, equip, and engage them as if they are silver, gold, platinum, or diamond status holders. We give them our best and refuse to treat them like they sit back in coach.
Therefore I challenge every reader of this blog to do something special for their crew over the next two weeks which illustrates this powerful idea of treating people like they are airline status holders. Please share what you did and how it was received on my Facebook page: Leadership Edge. Good luck and happy serving!
