Last week something happened before a ceremony
start that I’d never seen before – and I’ve seen a lot!
It was a blustery afternoon at
Pelican Hill Resort as the floral designer’s team was setting up. A glistening crystal chandelier hung from the
center of the rotunda, site of the ceremony.
I was reviewing last minute details with the event planner, JeannieSavage, when, without warning, the chandelier crashed to the ground. It was one of those surreal moments when your
brain can’t compute what your eye has witnessed.
Jeannie snapped to and asked if
everyone was okay. They were and she
exhaled, “Thank God no one was hurt!” I marveled at her composure. She turned to the head of the team and asked
him to call the floral designer while she called the resort’s catering
director. Within minutes, the destroyed chandelier
was being swept up.
Jeannie suggested we not tell the
bride until after the ceremony and she decided there was no time to attempt to
replace the chandelier. She was in
charge, calm and, yes, we did manage a “what the?” laugh. Throughout this bizarre incident, her
attitude was a reassuring, “I’ll handle
it. We’ll handle it.” And so everyone went about doing what needed
to be done.
What I found utterly remarkable was that in a dramatic moment, there
was no drama. Now that’s leadership!
Later, when I told Jeannie how
impressed I was by how she handled the situation, she was puzzled, “How else could I have responded?” I laughed because she could have responded in
so many other ways. She could have
yelled, demanding to know who screwed up; she could have debated whether to tell
the bride and stir-up emotions by asking for everyone’s opinion; or she could
have played the victim, lamenting, “What
am I going to do?”
Jeannie reminded me what’s needed
in a moment of crisis:
·
She stayed focused on her goal – having a
beautiful ceremony for the couple – and she let nothing distract her.
·
She didn’t lose confidence in herself simply
because something outside her control happened.
·
She trusted and relied on her team.
·
She was able to laugh.
·
She was not fixated on the original plan – and
so she could improvise.
These skills are crucial not only
for leaders. They’re crucial for our own
well-being and success in any crisis.
Jeannie’s company is named
“Details, Details” and it’s precisely because she values details that she didn’t
lose sight of the big picture – the welfare of her team, the happiness of her
couple and her own sanity.
Chandeliers come crashing down in all our lives – it’s how we handle
the broken shards that make all the difference.
Note: couple in photo is not couple referenced in this
post – photo is what rotunda looks like with a chandelier!
