When I was a kid in Connecticut I went with my Father to take my sister and her infant son to the train station. My sister had a lot of bags so my Father helped her carry her things on to the train. I was standing on the platform waiting for my Father to get off the train so we could go home. Then all of a sudden the train started moving with my Father still on the train! Here I am, an 8-year-old boy standing on the train platform all by myself while my Father is on the train heading to Washington DC. I remember seeing the train start to pull away, and my Father waving at me through the window to go to the ticketing office so I can tell them what happened. This was in the days where there were no cell phones, so my Father couldn't communicate with me to let me know what was happening. I went into the ticketing office and through sobs told the ticket agent that my Father got stuck on the train and I got left on the platform all by myself. The ticket agent was very reassuring and told me that everything was going to be OK. Fortunately the next stop was only about 30 minutes away so I was reunited with my Father in an couple of hours. It was one of the scariest times of my entire childhood, being left on the train platform all by myself.
Take time to understand if your team is on the train or if they are standing at the station. If they're at the station, go back and pick them up by securing their buy-in through helping them understand what, why, and how.
Lonnie Pacelli
Keynote Speaker | Board Director | Autism Advocate | Author | Project Management Expert | Microsoft/Accenture Veteran See his books on Amazon.
3 Comments
Jack
12/16/2015 04:12:43 pm
OK, I can't get the image of a stranded little 8-year old on a train platform out of my mind! I can't bare the thought of him still standing there. Help me out, please! Jack
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Paul S
3/29/2020 05:59:45 am
I think the crucial thing you mentioned is the lack of communication these day, your father couldn't contact you in any way. Today it's different but it's surprising how often we still forget about communicating things clearly, even though we have a real possibility.
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