171 – Attitude Is Contagious

John (Intro): I have been on a quest to learn everything I can about leadership obsessed with what makes the best leaders so good. After running companies small and large for the last 20 years, today I speak on stages all across the world to audiences who are interested in that same question. My name is John Laurito and I’m your host. I invite you to join me on this journey as we explore this topic: What makes the best leaders so good? Welcome to Tomorrow’s Leader. 

John: All right, welcome to today’s episode of Tomorrow’s Leader, where we dive deep on all things leader-related, related to leading yourself and leading others. I’m Jonathan Laurito, your host today and always so recently. I’ve been doing a lot of traveling. I’ve been out there flying and all kinds of stuff, driving planes, trains, automobiles. And I got to tell you, I had a great experience. I was on Delta and I want to tell you why this was a great experience. I think Delta’s a very good airline, comfortable seats, good experience overall. But what made this flight absolutely tremendous was one person and this was an individual who was a flight attendant. And I got to tell you, it was just one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. To be honest with you. 

John: This was the type of person I think you know what I’m talking about when I describe this type of person. This was the type of person that you could not help but just be drawn to. You could not help but love this individual. She was a flight attendant that probably had been there for I’m going to say, you know, years she was experienced. You could tell she was comfortable. She was confident. She knew what she was doing. I’d actually seen her on several flights before on Delta flights that I have taken. And I hadn’t seen her in a long time because I traveled a long time. So immediately, because of her attitude, I remembered instantly that, wow, I remember her from like a year and a half ago and she is phenomenal. 

John: And let me just tell you what she did. It was nothing overly extraordinary. But she just from the moment you entered the plane, had this attitude of being grateful for everybody that walked in the plane. And she actually said that. She said she walked up once everybody was seated. She walked up and down the aisles and just said, oh, my God, she kind of made a joke about it. It is so great to see everybody. I can’t tell you how nice this is to see people on planes again and get you all back here. And she genuinely meant it with a big smile and big smiling eyes. And you could just tell she was really authentically happy to have everybody there. And guess what? We all became affected by that. We all felt happy to be there. Like, you know, this is kind of cool. 

John: Now, I probably never would have said that before, but she just became this attitude and just became contagious. Every single person walked by me. Maybe she recognized me. She put her hand on my shoulder and the guy that was next to me was both on the aisle. So on the opposite aisle. And she looked at us and she said, You guys, I said something like, great to have you guys back again. I’m going to take care of you. And it just said you did that for a few passengers. And it was just like this feeling of personal attention. And then as everybody was leaving, as we were landing, she went up and down the aisles and just thanked everybody. She said again, thank you so much for coming, and thanks so much for flying. If there’s anything we can do, please let us know. Come back again.

John: I mean, it was just she was oozing with excitement and genuine care and happiness and authenticity. I just thought it was amazing. And the bottom line is everybody in the plane felt better. Everybody felt better because of her attitude. Her attitude was absolutely contagious. It works both ways. You know, I’ll give you another example. I went to the supermarket the other day, grab food. I was making my son we’re going to grill out. And we wanted to get salmon and some fish and other fish. And we’re waiting. We go to the counter to get fish and the seafood counter and nobody is there. So we’re waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. And nobody is there. And I’m getting really impatient. I go up to another person, another department. I said nobody’s at the seafood and meat counter. Can you send somebody over there? I wait another five minutes or so. I go back over there. I said, there’s still nobody there. Did you call anybody, shocked, or called somebody on the pager? That’s all I can do. Blah, blah, blah. 

John: Finally, this guy came out and I was literally ready to go behind the counter and grab my own fish. This guy comes out, he’s an 18-19-year-old kid. And just this sourpuss face and attitude that you know, he was doing me a favor by coming out there. And I know he could tell by my facial expression, my body language. I was not happy at all. He just came sauntering over and I’ve seen him a few times. And it’s not just this was not a bad day. This is just a guy, a kid with a bad attitude. And, you know, I told them what I wanted last time. I told them what I wanted. He gave me the wrong thing. He cut it the wrong way, measured it at the wrong end. He did the same thing again this time. Just didn’t ask me the same question over and over. I didn’t care, you know, I didn’t really care about it. Get it right, you got it wrong, you know, slapped it together, kind of threw it on the counter, I mean, just an absolute poor attitude. 

John: And I got to tell you, it just put me in a bad mood. I was so frustrated at the experience and I was so frustrated with him and his attitude that it got me in a bad mood. Now, here I am going home with my son. We just played tennis and we’re going to grill out and have some fun. And I found myself sitting there grilling which one of my favorite things to do. I just found myself in a bad mood. I’m like, well, I’m in a bad mood. I mean, I literally remember saying that sort of self to myself and I realized, you know what, it started with this kid. And I said something to myself. I’m like, what right does this kid, this 18 or 19-year-old kid who’s just miserable, have to impact my mood? Like what right does he have to impact my night, my quality time with my son? I don’t I don’t understand it. And you know what? Whose fault is that? That’s mine. I’m responsible for how I feel and my emotions. 

John: Now, I could have shut him down mentally and pushed him out, which I should have done. But I let his attitude rub off on me and my attitude changed and probably rubbed off on Nick. Now I think I snapped out of it and I realized what had caused me that. But it was an amazing lesson of how people impact each other and how our attitudes are contagious. Both of those totally different experiences. You were traveling part of my travels. I went down to visit some financial advisers in different parts of the country, and it was amazing. I went into some of these offices and two in particular, where when you walked in, you just felt great. The people there, the leaders there had this incredible attitude. They were happy to be there. They loved their people. They love their office space. They love the fact that we were there. They just they were inviting, welcoming. It was just this attitude that totally impacted me and the people I was traveling with, it totally rubbed off.

John: And, you know, it’s not surprising they were some of the most successful financial advisors in the country. They were some of the top offices. It’s no surprise that the attitude and the results actually went hand in hand. On the other hand, I actually see and I walk into businesses in all different industries and I can walk in and I can almost tell without looking at the books of numbers or anything like that, I can almost tell by the attitude of the people there how they do, how successful they are. It’s unbelievable. And what I find is if I see somebody that has a bad attitude, I can almost predict that the leader of that place has an attitude. There’s a place, there’s a restaurant, a brewery. Brewery is a hard word to say. I don’t know why, but there is a brewery in FUQ Wave Arena, which is a town here, which is really another hard word to say. And you know what? 

John: Everybody, everybody says the same thing. You know what? The food is great. The beer is great, but the service sucks. And there are some people there with just miserable attitudes. And you know what? I never even met the manager. But what I was told is the manager of that place is just a shithead and just a, you know, absolutely poor attitude. Hey, you know what? It’s not surprising. I get it. People are attracted to people that have positive energy and a positive attitude. And if you have a negative attitude, you’re going to attract negative people. It’s not a surprise. It’s not rocket science. Sometimes people are surprised by that. It shouldn’t be. 

John: So if you’re a leader and you’re not happy with the culture or the vibe or the attitude in your organization or your coach and your team has a bad attitude, or if you’re a teacher and your students have a bad attitude, look in the mirror, start with yourself. What is your attitude? Because I can guarantee you are having an impact on them one way or the other. And if it’s not positive, it’s negative. You have to realize that so starts with you. As with everything, with leadership, it starts with you. 

John: And attitude is absolutely no different. Are you that guy behind the counter that’s got a terrible attitude that’s rubbing off on everybody else and nobody even wants to get seafood and, you know, steaks because you’re there? Or are you that flight attendant that I will purposely book a trip on Delta Airlines with the hope and really crossing my fingers that she is a flight attendant on my flight? And when I see her again, I will ask her her name. I will. And I should have already done that. And I will tell her how much I appreciate her because she makes my day better. And every time I’ve seen her, she’s got the same attitude. 

John: And it just made me realize, you know what? She loves life. I can tell. I’ll bet her personal life is great. Her relationship doesn’t mean she’s problem-free. Now everybody’s got problems, but she tends to treat and act and respond the way that to others, the way she wants to. And you know what people do. I love her, so which person here, so I hope that gives you something to think about again, attitude, attitude, attitude. It is everything, everything in business, it is everything in life. 

John: So in any event, as always, love your ideas, your comments, subscribe. Sure. Thumbs up, all that kind of good stuff. Go down below, give a five-star review and look for my book. It’s out there. Tomorrow’s Leader. How the best leaders get better in a fast-changing world that is available on Amazon for immediate download and preorder for hard copies coming out in August. Please go on there. Check it out. Let me know what you think. Thanks, everybody.

John (Closing): Thanks for joining us on today’s episode of Tomorrow’s Leader. For suggestions, or inquiries, about having me at your next event, or personal coaching, reach me at john@lauritogroup.com Once again, that’s john@lauritogroup.com. Thanks! Lead on!