Your Bag is Fine; YOU are Lost!

During the holidays, I had the opportunity to fly to Texas with my family. I found myself in the baggage claim department for Southwest Airlines. I have heard a few war stories related to traveling. The following story is one I will always remember:

I was talking to this little old lady who was telling me the story of her lost bag. She could not believe that the airline had lost her bag. It was not that hard and she needed it.

Then, I got to hear the story again when she told the Southwest employee. The employee politely asked for the ticket. After she looked at it, their conversation went something like this:

Southwest employee: "Ma'am, your back was checked in Jacksonville."
Little old lady: "I know."
Southwest employee: "You are in Houston."
Little old lady: "I am?"
Southwest employee: "Yes, you are."
Little old lady: "Oh my."

The employee had to tell the woman that her bag was fine --- she was lost. She had to go to the ticket counter to get on the next flight to Jacksonville.

As I reflect on this story, I have mixed reactions. It is funny. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up. But I also feel sorry for the little old lady. I can't believe the airline made that mistake (and I'm curious what they did to make it up to her).

Then, I wonder if it could apply to us. Sometimes, you think you've got it all figured out, then BANG!! You are the one that is lost; not your bag. We have all been there, we are certain that the other person messed up and we can't believe how they can be that clueless. How can they not get it?

Next time you have that feeling, ask yourself:
Am I the person that is missing something?
Can I look at the situation from a different perspective?
Did my mental model mess me up?

Before you jump on the blame train, take a step back and make sure you haven't missed something. It is much easier to recover and fix the situation if you haven't told everyone and their dog that they lost your bag. :-)

Be observant, be humble and ask for help. Our teams want to help. Lead the Interstates Way.

Are You Mentally Tough?

What does it mean to be mentally tough and why is it an important characteristic of a leader?

Be Resilient.
Being mentally tough is about being resilient. It is about handling major setbacks well; taking a failure and figuring out to do with it (not getting defensive, not dismissing it and not playing the victim).

Show Courage.
Second, a leader that is mentally tough shows courage by doing the right thing (correcting the situation) and does not let the failure hold him/her back. They keep moving forward.

Be Persistent.
Finally, it is about persistence. No matter how many times you get knocked down, you get back up. One of the things I am most proud of at Interstates is the "don't quit" attitude of our leaders. A great part of our culture is to persist and finish things well.

As a leader you have the opportunity to give your team the hope that the vision is possible and the confidence to go for it. It is always your responsibility to set the standard by demonstrating mental toughness.

The next time you have a major setback, you have a choice:
Play the victim and complain, or
Show mental toughness.

Seize the opportunity by not asking "Why me?", but by asking "What should I do with this?"

Lead by example -- Lead the Interstates Way.

Leading the Interstates Way

"Leading the Interstates Way". This phrase has closed several blog posts. But what does it really mean?

It probably means something a little different for everyone. With this blog post, I hope to get some insight about what this phrase means to you.

Your assignment is to share your thoughts. I'm asking each EIL participant and each mentor to post a comment to the blog with two ideas of what you believe "Leading the Interstates Way" means. There are no wrong answers; I am simply looking for insight into your thoughts about leading the Interstates Way.

In 2014, we want to make sure we are all "Leading the Interstates Way". So take this as an opportunity to step out and share your ideas.

I will kick it off with one of my ideas about "Leading the Interstates Way":

I believe that 'Leading the Interstates Way" means living out our Core (Core Values, Vision Statement and our Why).