A Warm Response

Recently, we arrived at an Airbnb after a long day of driving.

It was early evening; we were tired and ready to settle in.

But when we opened the door to the apartment, we were met not with comfort… but with cold – it was chilly!

There was no heating on and worse, there was no obvious controls.

We messaged the owners and soon discovered they were away themselves, but did respond quickly.

They sent us details about how to access another apartment where we found the WiFi device that controlled the heating.

It took another hour or two, but eventually the warmth returned.

The next morning, without us asking, they apologised and there was also a pleasant surprise, as they refunded our first night.

And that’s when it struck me.

Leadership is often revealed when the room is cold.

Not when everything works perfectly, but when something has gone wrong.

In the response.

Taking ownership.

In the unprompted act to make it right.

They didn’t defend.

They didn’t deflect.

They simply took responsibility.

As leaders, we won’t always get it right first time.

But trust is built in the recovery.

Sometimes leadership is as simple as noticing the temperature – and turning the heating on.

When was the last time you made it right without being asked?