Employee Engagement
A Better Me!
04 October 2021 | 2 mins read
Not long ago, I boarded an airport shuttle bus to get to the rental car lot. Driving a shuttle bus is usually a thankless job. People on the bus are often grumpy from travel and in a hurry to get to their car. No one says much except the name of their rental car company.
But not on this bus.
The man who drove the bus was an absolute delight. He was scanning the curbside, looking for anybody who needed a ride. "You know," he told us, "I’m always looking because sometimes people are running late. You can tell it in their eyes. Hey, here’s another one! ..." He pulled over to pick up a latecomer, and he was so excited about what he was doing that we got excited.
We were actually cheering him on when he was picking people up. This driver would grab people’s luggage before they could lift it, and then he jumped back on the bus and said, "Well, we’ are off. I know you’re all eager to get there as quickly as possible, so I’m going to get you there as soon as I can."
Jaded commuters put down their mobile phones. This driver created such a community joy that people would say to people who got on after us, "Watch this guy!". He wasn’t just our shuttle bus driver – he was a light, he was a friend. It takes one person who moves towards the best version of himself to move the group, to create an atmosphere to humanize to life, to take away the moodiness of life.
What happens in the shuttle bus driver can happen in you.
Every once in a while you do something that delights you and catches a glimpse of the person you were made to be. Some examples could be:
You say something inspirational in a meeting.
You help a homeless man without the notice of anyone.
You are patient with a noisy 3-year old child.
You lose yourself in a music.
You fall in love.
You express compassion.
You fix an engine.
You forgive an old hurt.
You say something kind but authentic you would never say.
As you do, you will catch a glimpse of a better version of yourself. We are all work in progress because we are not perfect but there is hope.