Small Gestures, Big Impact
I recently flew on a small plane —type that technically has overhead storage, but seemingly only for about 15 total bags, even though the flight held between 60-80 people.
As a result, my suitcase ended up a few rows behind me.
At the end of the flight, as we were preparing to deplane, the gentleman next to me asked the gentleman behind him to “pass up my bag from the overhead bin near him” — “it's the pink-ish purple-ish one, yup, that one. . .”
Via a swift move that looked a bit like a basketball passing drill, the suitcase arrived in front of me, placed gently on the seat beside me.
I had no idea that my seat mate was orchestrating this, nor that he had remembered the specific details of my suitcase.
It was a small, thoughtful gesture that made a big impact. I deplaned feeling a sense of appreciation not only for the gesture itself, but for the fact that he thought to do it in the first place.
We face these types of opportunities often —to remember a small detail about someone in our life or on our team, and to do something that is easy for us but might make a notable impact for the person.
As a short person who is navigating wrist issues, having two tall gentlemen hand me my suitcase from a few rows back was one example.
Have you experienced any recent examples along these lines. . . a little gesture that was easy for the person doing it, but impactful for the recipient?
Reflections
What is one small gesture that would be easy for me, but meaningful to someone else?
What is one thing that would add 1% effort or time to my own workload, but have a proportionately greater impact on someone else's?
What is one recent example of someone taking down the metaphorical luggage from the overhead bin? And, what could it look like to express gratitude directly?
