I Have a Gift!

So my last post had something to do with the enjoyment of sitting up front while flying in a plane. I knew I was flirting with disaster by putting that in writing, and last week the disaster struck. It started snowing in Atlanta and I was headed to Phoenix. Our flight was delayed about 30 minutes, which wasn’t a big deal. Upon checking in at the gate I found that my wonderful junior first class seat (a.k.a. the exit row) was somehow reassigned and I was given a normal seat on the aisle - don't ask, I don't know. Honestly I was a bit perturbed because I wasn’t feeling too hot and was looking forward to attempting to sleep it off. I found myself next to two large guys and my knees were digging into the back of the seat in front of me. I was trying to figure out if I had just won the lead roll in the remake of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.
It was time to take off and the captain advised us that we were delayed another 30 minutes due to needing to de-ice.  I didn’t quite understand this as the snow was not sticking to the ground. Over time he pushed our time back farther and farther while opening and closing the boarding door to let people off. We finally closed it once and for all and headed toward the de-icing area. Oh happiness!

Upon arriving to de-ice we were told it would take several minutes….it only took 3 – no joke. I am forced to pause and ask a question, “What type of ice did we have that could have made us waste an inconceivable amount of time to be melted in 3 minutes?” I digress. We finally took off four and a half hours after we boarded and flew four more hours to Phoenix.

When we got in the air we found out that the plane didn’t fully stock their for-purchase food and that there wasn’t going to be enough for everyone. AWESOME!!!! Needless to say, I was relieved like a lion having a splinter removed by a mouse when it was time to land.

In the midst of this lovely aerial ordeal I couldn’t help but think about my dad.  When I was growing up and unplanned bad things would happen, he consistently had a phrase to sum it all up – I have a gift!  My brothers and I would either laugh at him or just roll our eyes in that “here-we-go-again” style. The phrase is still used to this day and those closest to him can sense it coming from 1000 miles away.  Please understand that he is a positive person...most of the time :)

On the plane I started breaking down the choices that had led me to that moment in time. We had just closed a large deal and needed to meet with our client…that week…in Phoenix. We were having dinner with them that night and chose to fly in early to head off any potential travel delays (if we would have waited for another flight it would have been disastrous). I didn’t control the snow, nor did I control the de-icing procedures or the fact that ATL traffic control was diverting and delaying flights for hours. What I did have control over was my ATTITUDE. I had to choose to distract myself and smile at the people around me.  I had to choose to treat the flight attendants with respect – not sarcasm. Would I have dealt with it better if I had been sitting in my original seat or better yet been upgraded to first class? Do cows advertise Chick-Fil-A?

Regardless of what happened I had to choose my attitude. You too have the same choice to make each day and to choose to at least pretend you sit in first class. You can decide to be buried by unplanned issues and let everyone know about this amazing gift you have, or you can choose to overcome the obstacles and do what my high school English teacher Lynn Rudd used to say, “Proactively choose your attitude.” Therefore I challenge you to let someone else lament over their gift of unfortunate circumstances while you choose to share your bag of smiles, laughs and contagious attitude.

So I'm on a plane...

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!

People Love to Love their Leader

Have you ever met someone who loves their job? Sure, we all have. Some love it because of the work – it’s what they’ve always wanted to do and they’re good at it. Others enjoy their jobs because of the flexibility it affords. But most of the people who love their jobs feel this way because of their boss. I’ve never met someone who loves their job, but hates their boss. People want to love their boss. Face it, you would love to brag to your friends and family about how cool yours is wouldn’t you? Repeat after me, “YES I WOULD!”




Odds are if you’re reading this blog you have some sort of leadership role today – someone is reporting to you or more accurately, someone is being influenced by you. Do you realize that those people want to love you? They want to enjoy coming to work each day to interact with you and make you happy. Michael Scott once said, “I want my people to love me. I also want my people to fear me. But I really want my people to love to fear me.” Okay, loving to fear you is not what I’m talking about – sorry Mikey.

This sounds so backwards doesn’t it? You can’t make your people happy all the time. This is true, but I’m not talking about pleasing your people. Do you know what draws people in? Passion, heart, honesty, vulnerability, humor, and integrity are all things that begin knitting your shop’s heart to yours. People don’t want to follow a statue and they don’t want to work for someone perfect who knows all the answers either. My boys asked me last weekend during dinner if my crew calls me, “Mr. Boss” or “Boss”. I told them that my team calls me, “David”. My boys are only 9, 5, and 4, yet they already have some preconceived notion that the boss is someone high above the people who look down on them with some pretentious title. What have I been teaching them???!!! When a team can identify with their superior and recognize (as my friend Dave VanderMolen says) their chronic humanness, bonds begin forming, and it is those bonds that aid in establishing deep-rooted motivation to perform and win every day.

What is keeping you from being a boss your people love?