From the President’s Desk: Going beyond the call of duty

When my wife and I travel, we like to tell ourselves that we’re saving money by not parking in some fancy parking structure, but instead heading to the long-term surface lot. We haul our luggage onto the shuttle, rain or shine, and cram ourselves onto the bus, clamoring down the highway toward departures.

One positive to this experience is that we get to meet new people as conversation naturally strikes up along the way (except on those 5 AM rides where passengers can see that speaking to me is not in the best interest of the crowd). Earlier this year, as my wife and I headed to another conference, a young woman in a flight attendant uniform was sitting across from us. I, of course, had questions – what could she tell us about the world of airports that we don’t get to see?

Her name, it turned out, is Breeanna. But when I asked what her destination for the day was, she told me she did not have one; she was heading to the airport simply to WAIT. In the event that her airline called her, she would run over to the gate and hop on board the aircraft, headed to destinations unknown. The flight might be to Spain or Seattle, Kansas or Kuala Lumpur; she would not know until she walked up to that boarding door.

I was blown away. Breeanna drives to the airport, pays for parking (out of her own pocket), rides the clamoring bus, and goes through the hassle of security…all to either wait in the airport for eight hours just to be sent home or jet off into the ether with no warning. Most of us try to AVOID doing all this on a daily basis, and we know where we’re going and have control over our schedules! Breeanna goes the extra mile – figuratively and literally – to support her company, help her team in their biggest moments of need, and serve the traveling public.

I couldn’t believe that someone was this committed to their work. Breeanna reminded me of Frank Borman, the commander of Apollo 8. Heading toward the moon, Commander Borman got the call from NASA that it was time to get up and move, interrupting the crew schedule, to adjust the module attitude. Borman essentially told Mission Control not to disturb his crewmates, he had adjusted the attitude already…two hours before it was required. He went above and beyond to be prepared and look out for his team but never sought praise or recognition. In fact, he didn’t say anything at all. The Apollo 8 mission went on to live in the history books, and much of it had to do with Borman’s dedication to his work.

In my interview with Breeanna, she taught me that this kind of commitment is not just something some people have and others don’t; it’s a learned skill. Her first job was at Burger King. “When I worked there,” she said, “there were days when I was scheduled to be off, but they’d call because of a no-show.” She would drop what she was doing and drive over to the restaurant to help out her team! “I would be there,” she said quite simply. “This gave me the practice I needed to commit to the job I have now.”

What does it take to build a culture of commitment? Can we draw inspiration from Borman and Breeanna, and use it to encourage those around us? Can we lead the way ourselves, going the extra mile before we’re asked so our team is set up for success? We have the chance to commit and build committed teams who work not just for an end goal, but for the support of one another.

“I love my job,” Breeanna told me as we closed our conversation. “I love traveling to meet different people and hear their stories. Because of the schedule, even though I’m away a lot of the time, I’m actually more present.” Perhaps we can learn from her perspective, bringing focus and follow-through to our work, not out of selfishness or a drive for the bottom line, but because it allows us to appreciate what we do and what we stand for. It’s a reminder that we can practice the skill of commitment to elevate ourselves, give wings to those around us, and let our industry soar.

P.S. Naturally, my last question for Breeanna was the same one you probably have: “What on God’s green Earth do you PACK to go to an unknown destination for an unknown amount of time???” To find out more about how she handles this insanity, you can follow her Instagram at @breeanna_carita.