Leadership & Judgment - Don’t Be Too Hasty!
I had an experience last month of how easy it is to judge
circumstances as good or bad - yet we might be totally wrong.
In our leadership roles, this quick judgment can limit our ability
to “hear” feedback and different perspectives. This lack of hearing
or really understanding someone can then have a huge impact
on the quality of our decisions.
Here is what happened. A group of friends, flying on different
airlines from Rome to get back to the States after a great vacation
in Malta and Sicily, discovered that an air traffic controller strike had
been called for all of Italy, and we might be stuck in Rome. This
might not sound like a big deal, but having been away for two weeks,
we were all quite ready to go home!
When my wife and I went to the United Airlines counter to check-in,
they acted like there was no clarity at all that there would be a strike,
and it was business as usual. It really bothered me that they were
taking the situation so non-chalantly. I quickly judged that they were
completely ignoring the needs of their customers.
After checking in, we were walking toward the departure gates when
we ran across our friends Al and Barbara, who were flying on British
Airways. That airline had cancelled all flights! Immediately I thought,
“United Airlines is setting us up for a big disappointment, and British
Airways is doing the right thing.” I quickly judged - probably based on
poor past experiences, but nevertheless, a judgment, that United
Airlines was creating a major problem for us. I was convinced that
we would spend hours and hours in the Rome airport only to have
our flight eventually cancelled and have to spend hours more finding
somewhere to stay.
So, what really happened? Well, our flight was three hours late, but
we did get out of Rome and all the way to Washington, DC, before
being stuck with no available flights to Denver. So we spent the night
near the airport and flew out early the next morning. We got home
about 12 hours later than the original plan, but we were more rested
after getting a good nights sleep in Washington. Basically, we just
slept in Washington instead of at home. Considering the circum-
stances, that certainly was not a big deal!
Meanwhile, Al and Barbara had a very difficult time finding
accommodations in Rome. After hours of searching they finally found
a tiny room in a bed & breakfast - without breakfast - for $150. So 24
hours later, they began their journey again to get back to Denver. They
had to go through 5 cities on several different airlines to get there -
standing in many airport lines along the way. They finally got home
two days later than originally planned.
I had so quickly judged United Airlines as doing the wrong thing, when
it turned out to be the best thing. In our roles as managers and leaders,
it is so important for us to really listen for understanding. Quickly
judging and possibly dismissing perspectives can impair our ability to
make good decisions.
Listen to understand and hold your judgments! Better decisions can
result.
Let us hear your examples of mistakes made with quick judgments!
Ed Oakley - Making Managers Into Leaders
June 12th, 2007 at 10:45 am
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