Photo by Simon Whitehead, www.threebythree.co.uk
Those of you like me, who are back from their sunny destinations, will understand my aching heart… longing to be back in the arms of carefree, mindless, fun- filled activities and basking in the glow of overall enjoyment overload.
But for now my vacances d’été seem like a distant memory etched somewhere in my mind. I am desperately trying to seize these moments (on an hourly basis :-) if only to convince myself that it was neither a dream nor a figment of my imagination!
But my holiday did not start as well as I had hoped and although it was a small hitch in the scheme of things (world poverty, the euro crisis and whether the Spice girls will indeed reform again) I was irritated and concerned….
Our flight was on time and took off on time and everything was just going swell. I had my tomato juice, my crisps and the flight attendant had just announced that flight entertainment was now ready for use. I had already inspected the inflight menu beforehand and was looking forward to watching a couple of movies…. until horror, I realized my headphones plugging area was damaged. No worries…..I thought…I called the flight attendant and he explained, after trying to fix it for a few minutes, that indeed it was broken and, worse still, he could not move me to another seat as the flight was full! This was upsetting news for me and I watched despondently whilst all the other passengers looked at their screens, smiling profusely with punctuated laughter…
However, it was the cabin crew chief attendant’s discourse that really impressed me. He came over to my seat and explained the situation; he listened, apologized and empathized and it is his handling of the situation that I would like to communicate with you all.
1. He discussed the problem factually.
2. He discussed his position BUT prioritized my position and how it affected me.
3. He was authentic and he “actively listened”.
4. He was not pejorative.
5. He gave me time to convey my side of the story.
6. He was clear without inflating the issue and without getting defensive.
I do hope these tips help in your professional and personal contexts. I know that I have certainly learnt from his sagacity… Oh yes, there is always a silver lining in my world and the upside was that as I did not have any entertainment, I was able to sleep soundly for the whole flight .
Wishing you all a bonne rentrée!
Ref: The 10 Commandments for Delivering Bad News
www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/05/30/10-commandments-for-delivering-bad-news/
Bio
Sunita Sehmi was born in London and is of Indian origin. She has a Psychology degree and a Post Grad in the Development and Training for Adults from the University of Surrey.
She began her career in the recruitment industry where she worked in Executive Finance Recruitment in the city of London. Upon her arrival in Geneva, she completed the advanced level Cambridge University training certificate (CELTA) and thus began a career in teaching, training and development. She has taught English and Communication skills both in companies and in educational institutions for over twenty years. She is now the founder of Walk The Talk. www.walkthetalk.ch
Sunita lives Geneva with her husband and their two boys. She is currently studying towards a Masters in Career Management and Coaching at the University of Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchatel and Fribourg.
