Bumped Up

By Shawn Lovejoy

I fly around the country a lot, and even around the world as I speak, write and consult with leaders. When I travel, I don’t usually book first-class tickets, but because of my flight status with various airlines, I am always on the short list for complimentary upgrades.

If you are familiar with the first-class seats on a commercial airline, you know the flight experience in that section of the plane is quite different than everyone else’s. First, you get to board and exit the aircraft before everyone else. When you arrive onboard, the seats are larger, and the rows are wider.

There’s bottled water waiting at your seat when you arrive there. There’s a special flight attendant assigned to your section who waits on you and responds to whatever you need. They take your coat, hang it up and return it to you just before you land. There are complimentary earphones and unlimited snacks and drinks. The seats recline further than coach seats. Ready to fly now?

If you’ve ever flown first class, do you remember the first time? You didn’t know the protocol. You knew you didn’t belong up front with all the wealthy people, but you tried to act like you knew what you were doing. You were thinking to yourself, I know I don’t belong here with all these rich people, but I need to pretend like I do. You watched and observed. You tried to mimic what the wealthy did. Sooner or later, you caught on.

Now when I am sitting in first class, I can always pick out the first-class “virgins.” I can tell they have never sat up here before. They look out of place. They look lost. You can tell who doesn’t belong. Me? It took me a while to do so, but I have finally embraced the fact that I belong here. I have paid my dues, earned the right and this is where I belong!

The same principle applies to leadership. When you start a company, church or nonprofit, or when you begin in a new role, you’re allowed to be rough around the edges. In the early days, your office can look like a frat house, your vehicle can look like you live in it and you can wear a hoodie into the office.

However, as your organization and leadership influence grow, you must become more aware of your surroundings. You are increasingly rubbing shoulders with a different caliber clientele. You’ve been bumped up to first class, so start acting like you belong here.

What does this look like? I’ll give you five different characteristics that you and your team need to give attention to on your flight to the next level.

POLISH

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so the first snapshot people take of you is really, really important. The Bible tells us that God looks at the heart, but the first part of the verse is often overlooked: “People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Did you catch that? God looks at the heart, but what do people look at? The “outward appearance.” People tend to make snap judgments, and their criteria are often based on appearance. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. People are watching you, surveying you, sizing you up and determining if you are a leader worth following.

Whether you know it or not, you are always being interviewed by people, and they are asking themselves, Is this someone worthy of being followed? Is this someone worthy of trust or deserving of investment. Does this person have their life together more than I do? The way you carry yourself is a big part of that. I call it polish. Is your life polished? Is it ordered? Is it organized? Is it neat? Does it look sharp? Does it communicate excellence? Does it communicate first-class leadership?

I generally like to dress just a little nicer than anyone I am going to meet that day. Why is my dress all that important? First of all, polish communicates honor and priority. Years ago, most of us got dressed up to go to church. These days in church, anything goes. There are parts of that I like, but maybe we’ve lost something along the way.

Dressing up to go to church was intended to communicate to God—and everyone else—that God deserves only our best. Our outside appearance was a symbol of our internal desire to bring our best to God. We still dress up to go to weddings, funerals and to go into the courthouse when we appear before a judge. Why? Polish communicates honor and priority. So it is with your team, your customers and your congregants. Either you look first class or you don’t.

If you think about it, polish also communicates authority. I’m a big ESPN fan, and it’s interesting to me that on a sports network, whose primary audience are overweight, over-the-hill sports jocks, they routinely require their sports analysts to wear suits and ties. Why? Because polish communicates authority. Something about seeing someone dressed professionally lets us know they know what they’re talking about.

Rest assured, your sense of polish (or lack thereof) communicates. The way you carry yourself communicates honor, priority and authority . . . or it doesn’t. Am I saying you need to wear a suit or dress everywhere you go? No. I am saying you should take a bath and iron your clothes. You can even be casual and still look like a professional. Be polished. Be clean. Be neat. Be sharp.

I also want my car, workspace and campus to communicate polish. Everything I deliver with my brand should convey polish. That’s first-class leadership

POISE

I can always pick out the people who have never flown before. They freak out at the first sign of turbulence. Even inexperienced fliers wince and wiggle more when turbulence happens on a flight. I can also spot new or inexperienced leaders from a long distance away. They freak out at the least sign of organizational turbulence. They lose their minds over small issues. They allow minor bumps to scare, disturb or distract them. First-class leaders maintain their poise in the face of turbulence.

The word poise is defined as “a dignified, self-confident manner” (dictionary.com). In short, to have poise means to maintain your composure. Great leaders don’t lose their composure easily. You will almost never see a flight attendant lose their poise. They have been there, done that and got the T-shirt. There is little that surprises them. They are veterans, and their demeanor shows it. They don’t flinch during even the most difficult of turbulence.

People in the back of the plane who aren’t used to being at this altitude? When a little turbulence comes along, they go crazy. Lesson? Don’t allow turbulence to cause you to lose your composure. In fact, when turbulence comes along, everyone is watching you. They will follow your cue.

Do you think flight attendants ever have moments aboard a plane when they become fearful? You bet, but you won’t know it because flight attendants know they set the tone for the rest of the aircraft during times of turbulence. They might be freaking out on the inside, but on the outside? Perfect calm.

You need to learn to do the same. Stay calm. Stay confident. Stay courageous. Say that out loud. I have it written down on an index card on my desk. You should consider doing the same. That way when you hit a little turbulence, you can quickly glance at it.

Veteran leaders aren’t easily frustrated. They aren’t easily agitated. They rarely lose their cool. They never freak out. They maintain their dignity. They are confident and composed. If crazy is contagious, so is confidence. Keep. Your. Poise.

PROMPTNESS

If you think about it, saying you will be somewhere at a certain time and not showing up at that time demonstrates a lack of integrity. Saying I am going to start a meeting at 8 a.m. and not starting it until 8:20 because half the team (including myself) are running late, begins to set culture. Culture is often created by what we tolerate . . . in ourselves or in others.

I know this sounds so simple, but be on time, start on time and end on time. If you are the leader, you ought to be the first one to the meeting. You need to be there to greet and fist-bump each team member as they arrive. Blowing in at the last moment looking frazzled just sends the message that our life and leadership are out of order.

Answer your phone. If you’re unable to answer, return your phone calls the same day. Make “inbox zero” a goal for each day, or at least every other day. Promptly return your calls, emails and texts. Be prompt. That’s how first-class leaders roll.

PASSION

How many of you are smart enough to admit you may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer? That’s me, OK? I have boasted over the years about being 13th in GPA in my high school graduating class, but there were only 64 of us! That was in Alabama. We are 48th on most national lists. Thank God for Mississippi and Louisiana! I was a B-minus student in college, and I scored a 70 out of a 100 when I originally took the state real estate exam years ago.

People do follow me. I have built some killer teams composed of people much more brilliant than I. The good news for you? You don’t have to be the most brilliant person in the room. You just need to be the most passionate. People follow passion. You must show up to your team with passion. If you’re the most passionate, people smarter than you will actually follow you. You must inspire people. As a leader, bring passion to whatever room you find yourself in.

POSITIVITY

Be a “glass half-full” person. Believe in yourself. Believe in people. Believe the best about people. Give people the benefit of the doubt. I don’t want to focus on problems, I want to focus on possibilities today. The next time your team hits a roadblock, just step up and say: “OK, this is a setback. This is not a problem. It’s just a challenge, and one we’re going to overcome. We’re going to figure it out. We’re going to wrestle around with it, until we come up with a solution and a breakthrough.”

If you have responsibility, if you have a team, if you have influence, you are a first-class leader in my book. My challenge to you? Act like it. Carry yourself as a leader. Wield your influence in a positive manner, and those around you with respond with the respect you deserve.