Leadership Skill Development: Leadership During Chaos

I was waiting for my flight from Richmond, Virginia
after presenting “Leadership Made Simple” to 150 managers
of a large companionship headquartered there. That is when I
experienced impressive leadership in the midst of chaos.

It all started when United Airlines‘ “Simon” (an automated
message system) informed me via my cell phone that my flight
through Chicago was cancelled. After an hour wait on a priority
line, I knew there was a real problem of some kind. When I
eventually talked to United, I learned that snow in Chicago had
closed the airport and made major travel problems within the
entire United system, and no doubt, other airlines, too.

The only chance I had to get home the same day was if I could
make a flight to Washington Dulles that left in one hour flat. I did
the “OJ” dash to get to the airport and the gate, huffing and
puffing, only to find that the aircraft had not yet arrived. I was
really quite relieved.

The entire air travel system was in chaos, and there was a line
of dozens of people waiting to talk with Michael Quintel, the United
gate manager. Every person needed to share their problem -
concerned about connections mostly – with a gate agent who
really had small or no control over whatever thing .

I was sitting about 10 feet away from Michael’s podium, so I
heard everything. I was personally cool because my connecting
flight from Dulles to Denver was several hours away. I was in the
right state of mind to simply watch and listen how Michael handled
the situation.

This guy had the patience of Job! He listened to the same tale
over and over and over. Yet, every person was treated as if
THEIR tale was original. Michael was absolutely MASTERFUL
at having every party believe he was there for them and was
doing everything he could do for them. And he sincerely was! It’s
where he naturally came from. In every single case, the frustrated
and concerned passenger walked away more cool and confident
than before he talked with Michael.

What I realized was that Michael was able to stay
Forward Focused(TM) no matter what happened. What a model he
was for what I want to be like when I grow up. It is a model of
emotional maturity – and I am continually effective on mine.

If I were to try to make a simple model for what Michael did so
well, it might look like this. He stayed Forward Focused while he:

- Listened completely to each person, honoring them and their
situation.

- Shared exactly what the situation was – in terms of how the
situation unnatural that party – no matter how many times he
had to tell the same tale over Over again .

- Offered any options that he could find in his notebook , selection
them take responsibility for their own choice .

In every case, they walked away feeling surpass about their
quandary .

My hats off to Michael Quintel, United Airlines representative,
a proven leader in a challenging situation!

Best regards,

Ed Oakley