Our family visited the Statue of Liberty this past Memorial Day. First off, the monument is impressive and the visit to both Liberty Island and Ellis Island are well worth enduring the long lines. Security is tight at the monument and a Nat’l Park Service employee was at the front of the line. We watched him bark orders, sigh in disgust, reprimand parents and the like. The irony was thick.
The messaging around the monument focused on how Lady Liberty was a symbol of hope, a welcoming sight to those yearning for a new life in America. On Monday, one key person made it feel very uninviting especially for foreign visitors who didn’t understand him any better because he was rude or loud. What was his job? He clearly thought it was to establish and maintain control as if he were working a protest line. I submit that his job was to protect the site and the people. Neither required his behavior. Both could have accomplished with patience and grace. He could have added to the experience and history. Unfortunately, he detracted from it.
Have you or any of your employees forgotten why your job exists? Has the task become more prominent than the purpose it serves? If you ensure tasks and attitude serve the broader purpose, your customers are more likely to have the experience you desire. If it’s the other way around, you’re headed down the path of airlines, cell phone companies and perhaps the Nat’l Park Service security team on Liberty Island.
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