What can we learn from a blind pilot?

A peer of mine told a very entertaining story this morning during a sales meeting that he was called on to facilitate. It is an older story, and you may have heard it, but I wanted to share.

A pilot was flying from Seattle to San Francisco when the plane was unexpectedly diverted to Sacramento along the way. He explained to the passengers that there would be a delay, and if the passengers wanted to get off the aircraft, the plane would re-board in 50 minutes. 

Everybody got off the plane except one lady who was blind. The pilot knew her as a frequent flyer, and stopped to greet her and her seeing eye dog that laid quietly underneath the seats in front of her throughout the entire flight. The pilot approached her, calling her by name, and said, "Mary, we will be in Sacramento for almost an hour. Would you like to get off and stretch your legs?" 

The blind lady replied, "No thanks, but maybe Buddy would like to stretch his legs." The pilot grabbed the leash and lead the animal off of the plane.

Picture this: All the people in the gate area came to a complete standstill when they looked up and saw their pilot walk off the plane with a seeing eye dog! The pilot was even wearing dark aviator sunglasses. People were completely speechless. They not only tried to change planes, but they were trying to change airlines!

As someone who knows the full story, I hope you can see the humor in this anecdote. Imagine that you were one of the other people on that plane. Would you have jumped to an incorrect conclusion based on appearances? Do we do the same thing with our customers and team members each day?

Imagine the consequences if we, as managers and leaders were to judge everything we see and do based on an incomplete understanding. We would never sell a product to someone we didn't think fits the demographic. We would never try anything again after failing. We would never progress and grow. Out teams would suffer.

My quick advice to avoid these traps is to be wary of perception. While perception becomes reality, it can often obscure the truth. As leaders, we should listen with the intent to change our minds. We must find the truth before we can make decisions and become more effective stewards of the team and tasks with which we have been charged.