Steve Slater offers an opportunity for every employee to be better engaged
If Steve Slater’s (of JetBlue fame) story can teach us anything is that it is an opportunity to look at your own organization and see what is going on; what is driving people nuts and how you can better engage employees.
It is so easy to sit and talk about Steve Slater and whether he was right or wrong; is a hero or a nuisance; should he go to jail or not; should you contribute to the defense fund to keep him out of jail.
Water Cooler talk about Steve is still going on days later. What’s sad is too many people are just laughing and talking. Smart companies are turning that conversation into how they can become better. They’re looking at things like:
- Steve Slater was clearly disengaged before this incident. What is the state of engagement in our company? Do you have “Slaters” on your team who could harm your image?
- How are your customers feeling these days? And where in that customer experience do you have possible vulnerabilities?
It doesn’t matter whether you think Steve was right or wrong. These are two things I’d look at and make part of the Steve Slater conversation.
Of course most organizations will just laugh at Steve or raise him to the status of king. I hope you’re not most.
Are you a smart company?
And seriously, don’t you deep down inside wish you had been there to witness it?
