Yan Maschke, August 28, 2017

Having been a frequent air traveler, I rarely listen to the safety announcements on the plane - I can probably recite the words if I am asked to. This time it's different, one phrase caught my attention traveling in Greece today (Monday, August 28, 2017).

We boarded an Olympic Air plane from Athens to Samos island as part of a family vacation. The voice started on the speaker in the plane. After a few sentences which sounded like a blur to me as usual, I heard "we are responsible for your safety and comfort." It made me pause. 

At first, I didn't comprehend why that particular sentence caught my attention. Then I realized that it's because I don't remember normally hearing this expression of "we are responsible for your safety and comfort" on a plane. I may have heard "Your safety is important to us" or "To ensure your safety..." or other phrases, or maybe I simply didn't hear it or remember it.

The soft candy passed by the flight attendant seems to have an extra touch of care today.

Somehow, the verbalization of someone is responsible for something felt good. It felt grounding, safe, and comforting. It instantly instilled a sense of trust in me towards the airplane (despite the fact I had never flown with Olympic Air before).

Sitting on my seat, now immersed in my own thoughts and not listening to anything else, I started to reflect how often we use the phrase "I am responsible for" and how often we hear others use that same phase, instead of just assuming a mutual understanding of responsibility. 

I didn't seem to notice the plane taking off and the discomfort that typically comes with it due to my motion sickness. 

I never anticipated reflection triggered by an airplane announcement. I am now curious how powerful it might be if everyone started to use the phrase "I am responsible" more often. 

Being a practitioner as I am, I started visualizing and silently practicing saying the phrase "I am responsible" as the plane seemed to have reached its desired altitude. I felt a similar sense of groundedness that I experienced when I was the receiver of the message after boarding. I felt a sense of confidence in myself and a calm sense of ownership without the anticipated stress that sometimes accompanies the thought of responsibility. 

That surprised me too. I took a sip of the hot tea served to me.

I am curious about what you think of the expression of clear responsibility, how it shows up in your teams, and its potential impact on organizational alignment and achievement of common goals.

If you are as curious as I am, I invite you to play with the exercise of saying "I am (or we are) responsible for...". If you feel so inclined, you could even invite your peers and team members to join. Then, just notice. Notice the effect externally, and internally.

Flight attendants are now collecting trash and alerting us of the approaching landing. This is my first time visiting Samos. I think I like it already. 

Back to Blog