About two weeks ago, maybe a bit longer, I got an email that I had been "selected to attend" this event that Delta does a few times a year. I was very excited. I have an idea as to why I was selected, but I am not sure. As far as my station goes, I was the lowest in seniority to be there. This entailed flying to Seattle on Tuesday morning and flying home on Wednesday night. Delta paid for everything, my hotel, my food, a gala event on Tuesday night. It was a BUSY two days. I am still trying to get my feet back under me from the whirlwind. I spent most of my two days just exhausted.
However, that is not what I want to gab about.
I spent 32 years in a job. It was a local government job. I have been through my fair share of "leaders" in my 32 years there. This would include mayors, police chiefs, deputy chiefs, captains, directors and such. Some of those leaders were good; i.e. the chief from 2000 to 2006 was an amazing leader. There are two that come to mind recently there, that have no clue what leadership really is - they live in a ME world; what is this going to do for me, how is this going to make me look, you work for me, go do this and make me look good..........blah blah blah blah blah. And the lies, they flow like water. Now, I have to say, for myself, that I had a huge wake up call when I left my last job. When I was a supervisor, to me, I was there for my team, for my group, for those I was working with that day. I cared about my people. I always felt that my job was a support function of the people I was supervising - I was not there to watch, nitpick, catch them doing things wrong - I was there to make sure they had what they needed to do their jobs. In my last assignment, I feel that I lost that - I got caught up in the nightmare. It was when I came to that realization, that I knew it was time for me to go - I couldn't be a part of something I didn't believe in anymore. I finally realized that the Kool-aid I had been drinking was fraught with poison.
Why do I bring this up? Because yesterday I got to be a part of something truly amazing. The CEO, Richard Anderson, is the epitome of a leader. I watched him in complete and total awe as he spoke to this group of employees - me included. He is literally the supervisor of 80,000 people - worldwide - and is still very in touch with those people. I watched him speak about the people, that the reason Delta is what it is is due to the people, not due to him. And beyond that, when it came to answering questions, he knew the answers. The questions weren't always things that he should even know, but he did - down to what it takes to get wi-fi on trans-oceanic flights. This man isn't fake, this man isn't a narcissist - this man is real. He truly cares about the people of the organization and the organization itself. And what does that do for him, it makes him a rock star in the eyes of the people that work for him. I had never seen anyone like him before, even politicians have nothing on him.
It was an honor to be there. A true and complete honor. Something I will keep with me for a very long time, if not forever. I'm so blessed.
However, that is not what I want to gab about.
I spent 32 years in a job. It was a local government job. I have been through my fair share of "leaders" in my 32 years there. This would include mayors, police chiefs, deputy chiefs, captains, directors and such. Some of those leaders were good; i.e. the chief from 2000 to 2006 was an amazing leader. There are two that come to mind recently there, that have no clue what leadership really is - they live in a ME world; what is this going to do for me, how is this going to make me look, you work for me, go do this and make me look good..........blah blah blah blah blah. And the lies, they flow like water. Now, I have to say, for myself, that I had a huge wake up call when I left my last job. When I was a supervisor, to me, I was there for my team, for my group, for those I was working with that day. I cared about my people. I always felt that my job was a support function of the people I was supervising - I was not there to watch, nitpick, catch them doing things wrong - I was there to make sure they had what they needed to do their jobs. In my last assignment, I feel that I lost that - I got caught up in the nightmare. It was when I came to that realization, that I knew it was time for me to go - I couldn't be a part of something I didn't believe in anymore. I finally realized that the Kool-aid I had been drinking was fraught with poison.Why do I bring this up? Because yesterday I got to be a part of something truly amazing. The CEO, Richard Anderson, is the epitome of a leader. I watched him in complete and total awe as he spoke to this group of employees - me included. He is literally the supervisor of 80,000 people - worldwide - and is still very in touch with those people. I watched him speak about the people, that the reason Delta is what it is is due to the people, not due to him. And beyond that, when it came to answering questions, he knew the answers. The questions weren't always things that he should even know, but he did - down to what it takes to get wi-fi on trans-oceanic flights. This man isn't fake, this man isn't a narcissist - this man is real. He truly cares about the people of the organization and the organization itself. And what does that do for him, it makes him a rock star in the eyes of the people that work for him. I had never seen anyone like him before, even politicians have nothing on him.
It was an honor to be there. A true and complete honor. Something I will keep with me for a very long time, if not forever. I'm so blessed.
Great post. So true, on so many levels. Love you and miss you tons.
ReplyDeleteNatalie