Several years ago I was scheduled to fly from Rochester, New York, to Southern California to deliver a commencement speech at a community college.
As I arrived at the airport in Rochester, I learned that my connecting flight to Chicago had been canceled. The airline put me on a plane to Washington, D. C., where I was to catch a connecting flight to Los Angeles. As we pulled away from the gate and approached the runway, the pilot came on the radio and said we would have to go back to the terminal. The engine was on fire!
Inside the terminal, ticket agents were busily helping us find alternatives to our destinations. Unfortunately the schedule they had arranged wouldn’t allow me to make it on time to give the speech. I went back to the ticket agent and pleaded with him to find a different alternative. I explained my situation. He worked hard and found a different flight plan, which would get me to California three hours before I was to give my address.
That evening, while delivering the speech, I shared with the students what had happened. I realized the importance of not taking for granted anything we do in life. The smallest act of kindness, the ability to intervene on behalf of another person can make or break someone’s day. (1) That’s being a difference maker.
As with the ticket agent, a difference maker may be someone that only touches your life for one, maybe two brief moments in time. Or they may affect your life over a period of time such as a mentor or a teacher.
Regardless of the time frame a difference maker is someone who has developed a thought process (not necessarily conscious) or a way of life that intentionally impacts the lives of others.
The first attribute of a difference maker is they open doors that appear to be shut; they create pathways to that which we perceive as unobtainable. Due to circumstances beyond my control, it appeared that I would not make it to California on time to make my speech. But the ticket agent was willing to open doors, to create a pathway and find a workable option.
Opening doors has nothing to do with power or status. It has only to do with your willingness to make a difference.
Who has opened doors for you, professionally or personally? A colleague, a boss, a parent, a teacher, a coach? And for whom do you need to open a door or create a path? A co-worker, a family member, that person you pass on the street? The opportunities are endless!
There are six attributes to being a difference maker and today we looked at the first one – being a door opener. Next time we will look at the second attribute – believing in others when they don’t believe in themselves.
Until then find ways each day to open doors for others and be a difference maker.
Steve Hanamura, president of Hanamura Consulting, Inc., and author of I Can See Clearly: A Different Look at Leadership, has 30 years of experience working with organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to regional not-for-profit institutions. He is widely sought after in the areas of leadership development, building effective teams, leading diversity initiatives and managing generational differences.
He can be reached by phone at 503-297-8658 or by e-mail at sh@hanamuraconsulting.com
