I was feeling hopeful recently as I waited to board an early morning flight to Boston. Things were lining up for an on-time departure. The plane had been parked at the gate overnight, and the pilots had just boarded to do their pre-flight check, while the gate agent announced we’d be boarding soon. If my luck held, I’d be arriving in plenty of time for an event I needed to attend that afternoon.
My optimism quickly waned as the pilot returned to the gate agent’s desk and announced the plane had a mechanical problem. He informed us that maintenance was working on it, and he expected only a short delay. Thirty minutes ticked by while passengers sat waiting. To his credit, Captain Bill kept us in the loop on progress, but confidence about a quick departure dissolved when we learned a needed part had to be flown in to complete the repair. With few other great options available, most passengers tucked in for the wait. If you’re a frequent traveler, you’ve no doubt seen this movie. It doesn’t usually turn out well.
There’s nothing about a delayed departure that’s fun, especially when things take six hours to resolve, and then a ground stop is announced just after you board and push back. Couple this with a crew that’s been on duty so long that they’re about to time out and can’t legally fly, and the day goes from bad to worse. Tempers usually start to flare as passenger frustration grows, and the gate agents and crew become the obvious target for venting. But, somehow, this didn’t happen on Captain Bill’s flight.
As it turns out, Bill’s behaviors that day made all the difference. They were a direct embodiment of his company’s values of servant leadership, resilience and care. In “Selecting the Best: Fostering a Workforce Driven by Values for Lasting Success,” David Cohen describes values as “strongly held beliefs that are emotionally charged, resistant to change and universally applied.” Those values, he says, translate into norms of behavior and, over time, define the company’s culture. Hiring the best talent, according to Cohen’s research, means hiring for “fit to behaviors,” a concept rooted in defining values and the behaviors that represent them in action. Values, then, are more than just words on a website or mantras posted in employee literature. For employees like Captain Bill, they become a way of being.
The culture built by the airline’s values was experienced by every passenger on that flight. I marveled at the care and concern our pilot expressed and his practice of keeping us apprised of everything going on behind the scenes. He was juggling with lit torches for hours but demonstrated resilience as he managed one challenge after the other. The result for us as customers was feeling cared for by a pilot as he worked to get us into the air and to our destination safely and quickly as possible. That day, Bill wasn’t just our pilot; he was the airline company, and every decision he made impacted its reputation with the traveling public.
Skills and experience will always be important hiring criteria, but if you want more employees like Bill in your organization, Cohen offers some sage guidance:
“People come to an organization with a variety of life experiences. They come from a multitude of geographic and family backgrounds. The essential thing is to find the person who fits the behaviors that define living your company’s values … in a difficult circumstance they will act in line with your ethics.”
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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