The other day I was stuck in a middle seat in the back of the plane on a 3+ hour flight. It gave me some time to observe the parade of loading the plane. Lots of dalliers just drifting back, stowing luggage, deciding who in the party gets the window seat (especially important for kids!)
The man next to me on the aisle had run through the airport because his alarm did not go off (it was his wife’s fault –we’ll talk about accountability another time). He was out of breath and sweating and creating some concern for the flight attendants and the doctor who was seated at the window. They brought him water and napkins and kept asking if he was ok.
After a few minutes the attention diminished and almost everyone was seated. I saw a man in intense conversation with one flight attendant, then two flight attendants then three flight attendants. They were all trying to help this man with his dilemma. After a while, one of the flight attendants came to my row and asked the doctor in the window seat to show them his boarding pass. It turns out he was really supposed to sit in 24F rather than 27F. The flight attendants then negotiated with the other passenger to sit in 24F and all was well.
You may have seen something like this when you’ve flown somewhere, but what struck me was how labor intensive resolving this non-to minor-issue because one flyer chose not to address the man sitting in his seat. This whole thing could have been handled in mere seconds,
Man 1: “pardon me. Is it possible that you are sitting in my seat? My boarding pass says 27F”
Man 2: “let me look. Oh, mercy me! It looks like I should really be in 24F! Would you mind terribly sitting in 24F?”
Man 1: “sure”
This interchange would have taken mere seconds and not involved anyone other than the two principals. Seems like a more efficient use of time and resources.
Are you spending more resources resolving small issues because you or your team struggles with conflict, or what they perceive as conflict? We can help you learn strategies and tactics to help combat conflict avoidance and streamline solutions.
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