Loading luggage in an ice-storm
“A CEO loading luggage during an ice storm?” says [aircraft Engineer] Mark Fields. “Now that’s a man you want to work for.”
I read this quote at the weekend in an article in Monocle magazine about JSX airlines CEO Alex Wilcox. The article focused on Wilcox’s vision, creativity, determination, resilience and passion. Yet it was this sentence that made a lasting impression on me.
Senior leaders often forget that the simplest way to build trust is to demonstrate that you’re prepared to roll up your sleeves and pitch in, regardless of the situation.
I still remember a former boss of mine fielding telephone calls from frustrated customers during an IT crisis. It would have been much easier for him to preside over a ‘war room’, with people hurrying to and fro with information on how the issue was being handled.
Instead, he took his jacket off, found a desk with the team, made them all a cup of tea, put a headset on and waited for the phone to ring. Not only did he earn our respect and trust, he set a high bar for the other members of his team. It became one of the most efficient and trusted leadership teams we ever worked for.
Whilst leadership may spend time in offices and at desks making decisions to ensure that the organisation remains committed to its strategy, that’s not where hearts and minds are won. They are won at the front line engaging and helping the people that do the ‘real’ work.
By getting away from the desk and out into the field, leaders:
Accelerate trust-building
Create authentic role-modelling for other leaders
Provide leaders with ground-level insights into culture and operations.
The next time your team faces a crisis, ask yourself: 'What's the most non-strategic, hands-on way I could help right now?' Sometimes the most strategic thing a senior leader can do is to deliberately choose to be non-strategic and help loading the luggage in an ice-storm instead.
