Our potential to do good is limitless. It doesn’t even take much effort, so be intentional about how you show up each day – in your conversations, interactions and emails. Picture: Stock.
An initially embarrassing moment in an airport lounge brought home to May Busch how her casually given advice years ago influenced the life and career of the person who received it.
When I travel, I like to do it incognito – below the radar, in my own secret bubble; kind of like toddlers who think no-one can see them if they put their hands over their eyes.
If I’m booked on a long flight during which I’ll sleep a lot, I don’t want to have make-up on. (I’ve read sleeping in make-up is like smoking a pack of cigarettes – bad for your skin).
Recently, I was heading home from Hawaii, where I’d just led a leadership development workshop for a company’s executive team.
I was travelling without make-up, walking into the British Airways lounge at Los Angeles to wait for my connecting flight, and looking for a quiet corner to do some work.
Then, to my horror, someone called out my name: “May Busch! It’s been such a long time.”
There was nowhere to hide. No way to be ‘’unseen’’. My only play was to do what my mother says to do in the face of difficulty: Put on a big smile and make the best of it.
Somehow, I pulled his name out of my long-term memory and was able to put on a brave face and say: “Peter! So great to see you.”
It genuinely was great to see Peter, even though I had no make-up on and was not ready for prime time. However, I managed to put it aside to have a lovely catch-up.
Just as we were going our separate ways, Peter said: “I still remember the two pieces of advice you gave me when I got promoted to managing director. Coming from someone senior like you, it meant a lot.
“One was, ‘Congratulations on reaching the top of the ladder. You are now on the bottom rung of the next ladder. Keep climbing’.
“The second was, ‘When you say, ‘They should fix that’, recognise that you are now ‘they’.”
I remembered the first one, but not the second, until he told me.
I was glad I still agreed with what I said all those years ago, and that my words made a positive impact on his career. He now heads a global business unit.
As soon as I found a place in the lounge, I went to the ladies’ room and put on my make-up. There was another woman in there washing her hands.
This seemed like the perfect opportunity to conduct a quick survey, so I asked her whether she put on her make-up every day.
She said: “No, I just put on some foundation, eyebrow pencil, eye-liner and lipstick, but that’s all.”
I told her that’s pretty much my entire regimen when I do put on make-up. I went on to tell her about my chance meeting and we had a laugh.
She said: “Now you’ve put on your make-up, you’re not going to bump into anyone else you know.”
That’s exactly what happened (or didn’t happen).
My lesson from this incident is this: Always put on your make-up when you’re going to public places. Just kidding.
The real lesson is: You never know whether what you say or do will be remembered for decades.
Most of us walk around not realising the impact we can and do have on others. The reality is that our potential to do good is limitless. It doesn’t even take much effort. I’m just glad what I said to Peter was something that was positive and helpful to his career.
So, be intentional about how you show up each day – in your conversations, interactions and emails. Choose words that are kind yet clear when giving advice, and especially when delivering negative feedback.
Consider the words of appreciation that could make all the difference to someone’s day.
Think about what you can do to lift a teammate’s mood when they’re down. Notice the kind of energy you bring when you walk into a room.
If you mess up and say or do something you regret (we all do), then do what you can to make it right. Bring your best self as often as you can.
May Busch’s mission is to help leaders and their organisations achieve their full potential. She works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected]. This article first appeared on May’s blogsite.
