The plane ride: how to challenge a bad decision

Life can be very scary to young children. With the excitement of the first day of school comes the trepidation of being away from your parents for the first time. There is a scariness attached to the first time you ride your bike without training wheels. It is frightening the first time you go swimming without the lifejacket. Each of these experiences was less terrifying with one of your parents at your side.

Children trust their parents.

We're not talking about trust as knowing our parents wouldn't lie to us. That’s called “truthfulness”. Although truthfulness is important part of trust, children trust their parents to a much greater degree. This is because we know our parents would be willing to put their lives on the line for us.

Such is the trust I had in Bob, my boss while working as the Director of Vendor Development at Kmart. No, I did not expect Bob to put his life on the line for me. Although, quite honestly, I wouldn't rule it out. Time and time again he demonstrated he could be trusted with my career. He watched over me. He had the ultimate integrity. He knew my goals and put me in places and situations to help me meet those goals. He provided the resources I needed to succeed and gave me every opportunity to shine. When I was in trouble, he protected me.

One-time Bob came to the rescue following a trip I had made with then Kmart President Mark Schwartz. We had taken a day trip to Arkansas on the corporate jet. High over Indiana Mark, who was seated across the aisle from me, leaned over and announced, “Rick, call me in the morning. I’ve been meaning to eliminate your call center so let’s do it tomorrow.”

Obviously, I was shocked! Eliminate the vendor call center? I had spent the last year working with these 17 excellent workers. I had seen them grow in confidence, happiness, and fulfillment as they found hidden talent buried deep within their souls. What would he do with them?

The next morning, I waited for Bob to arrive. As soon as I saw him, we discussed what Mark had said. Bob was not concerned. He asked me if I knew the impact it would have. I responded with something about the job loss.

“What matters to Mark more than jobs?” he asked.

I knew it was a learning moment as I had no idea where Bob was going.

“Your group takes more than a thousand calls a day. Where would those calls go if your people weren’t there?” he asked.

“Probably the buyers,” I responded. Then after a moment of quietness I added, “and they’d also call accounts payable and logistics.”

“So those thousand calls . . . how many calls would they grow to if the callers did not have a single point of contact?” he asked.

“I recon they could easily turn into two to three thousand calls as people would call several places looking for their answers.”

“That’s right,” Bob concluded. “Does Mark want that kind of distraction throughout the building?”

Bob turned in his chair and picked up the phone. “Mark, can I come up to see you?”

The call center was not only saved, Mark approved extending its hours!

When employees trust their supervisor the way I trusted Bob, it becomes easier to find the talent hidden deep within us. Without the worry of watching over our shoulder, submerged talent will rise to the surface. Bob's trust allowed me to extend myself and to help my people grow.

This is an excerpt from “Life’s Leadership Lessons” a collection of 53 anecdotal leadership lessons, each with an anecdote and the application of the topic in your everyday life. It is designed for use in weekly staff meetings or for personal development.