“Common Courtesy” is defined as politeness that people can usually be expected to show. While I talk a lot about being a heart leader and how that impacts the people we work with, the behaviors in line with heart leadership extend well beyond the workplace. And they even extend when we encounter people we don’t even know. When we practice manners, etiquette, and respect with complete strangers, it makes it easier to do the same for the people we care about the most. Yet in our busy lives, it can be easy to fall into selfish patterns when we are away from home or work. Traveling the past couple of weeks gave me plenty of opportunities to see this firsthand and I figured I’d share three of my thoughts about demonstrating common courtesy
while traveling and in life.

Wait Your Turn - There seems to be a new trend once a plane has arrived at the gate for people in the back of the plane to get up immediately after the fasten seat belt sign is turned off and rush as far forward as possible to get off a few minutes sooner. It’s one thing when you’ve got a connecting flight to catch, it’s another when you are just impatient and pushing your way past other passengers as if your time is more important than theirs. Common courtesy is to wait patiently until it’s your turn whether you’re in a waiting room, in a line, or in traffic.  Bonus points when you open a door for someone and allow them to go ahead of you!

Take a Step Back - When retrieving your checked bags, the respectful thing to do is to allow a little bit of room between you and the baggage carousel. There is no need to box out fellow passengers in anticipation of a fight for your bag. If everyone just takes a step or two back, it makes it much easier for each person to step up and grab their bag when it comes out. When you take a step back in life, you get a better perspective of your surroundings and can anticipate what is coming your way.

 Watch Your Language - Using “please” and “thank you” seems so simple, yet it can go a long way when interacting with airport employees. Whether ordering food, going through security, or interacting with a customer service agent, we control how we treat them. I know traveling can be stressful, but that doesn’t give anyone the right to take their frustration out on the people who don’t have control over the situation. Most employees are doing their best and a bit of positivity and kindness not only is the right thing to do, but it’s also more likely to get you what you want. I know personally I want to do more for the people who approach issues with patience and understanding than those who come with frustration and anger. 

As humans occupying this planet together, I believe we all deserve a certain level of respect and that should come with the ability to show common courtesy to one another. Regardless of what is going on in our world, we should have the decency to bring kindness to others whether they are longtime friends or strangers crossing our paths. We can do this with more patience and waiting, less pushing and hurrying. More room and margin, less crowding and narrow focus. And with more “please’s” and “thank you’s” and less demands and threats. If we commit to doing this daily, it improves how we show up as leaders for those around us.