Leadership Lessons on the Jubilee Line
I was rushing to see a friend in east London one afternoon when I ran into severe delay on the London Underground at London Bridge station. As I began to feel sorry for myself, a group of noisy primary school pupils on their way back from a school trip in central London made their way to the platform for the trains heading east. The leader of the party, a male teacher of Year 4 pupils, mostly eight-year-old, shouted out instructions: “Year 4, we are on the platform for the trains going to Stratford, our last train destination. So I want everybody to sit down; the trains have been delayed.”
Thankfully, shortly after the teacher spoke, the public announcement system came on: “The Jubilee Line has now reopened, and the next train on this platform will arrive in 20 minutes. I am sorry for any inconvenience this delay may have caused your journey.” Familiar voice I must say; particularly if you travel a lot on the trains. 20 minutes is a very long time to wait for a train on a platform with tired pupils desperate to go back home after a day out in London.
The teacher used the waiting time to give further instructions to the wearied pupils: “Year 4, I want you to listen, and keep your noise down. There are now too many commuters on this platform. We are all going with the next train in the front carriage. You need to stay in your pair formations. Our destination is Stratford, and the trains will stop at few stations on the way. Do not get off or leave the train, whether the train doors are open or not.” I began to wonder how anyone would get out of closed train doors, but then I realised children need very clear instructions.
Having travelled that route several times in the past, I knew all the stations between London Bridge and Stratford very well – Bermondsey, Canada Water, Canary Wharf, North Greenwich, Canning Town, and West Ham. At least three of those stations have particular significance, and I could understand why getting off at these stations could be tempting for any curious pupil. Canary Wharf, with several tall shinning buildings is the home to London’s second commercial nerve centre–the City in the east. North Greenwich is home to the iconic Millennium Dome, now called the O2 Arena, where lots of events and tournaments take place. West Ham station would be tempting for fans of West Ham United FC. Stratford was where the London 2012 Olympics took place and now home to Westfield Stratford shopping complex.
While still wondering how it would ever be possible for anyone to get out of the train without the carriage doors opening, I heard the teacher again: “Year 4, no pupil gets off this train until we reach Stratford. Understood?” “Yes, Mister,” chorused the bleary eyed pupils. Then the teacher added: “If anything happens to me and you couldn’t find me or I couldn’t help you, Ms. Hannah will take over, and you need to listen to everything she says. And if anything happens to Ms. Hannah and she couldn’t help, then you need to ask Mrs Palmer, Trevor’s mum for help. And whatever happens we would get all of you home to your parents. Again, Stratford is the station where we stop and where everyone gets off.”
I counted as the teacher, whose name I never picked up, repeated the instructions twice before the train arrived at the platform and a further three times before the train reached Stratford. Apart from the delays and hundreds of commuters squeezing into the overcrowded carriages with about 30 chatty pupils, the journey was uneventful and we arrived safely at Stratford within 25 minutes. The pupils stepped out of the train in pairs as instructed by their teacher. As I made my way for the escalators to exit the station, I turned round to have a last glimpse of the excited school children as the group faded away from my view.
I left the station and boarded a bus to my friend’s flat about two miles away. It was much later after I had settled down at my friend’s flat that I reflected on my earlier encounter with the school kids and their minders. It occurred to me that the male teacher was the leader of that party and there were leadership lessons I could learn from that encounter.
What leadership lessons could you also learn from this story?
TASKS: Write down the leadership attributes displayed by this teacher in the above encounter. What other lessons did you learn? Compare your responses to the ones given below. Please let me know if you disagree with or have any strong views about any of the lessons listed below.
THE LESSONS I LEARNT
1. The leader knew it was not all about him.
2. The leader understood the need of their followers (the pupils).
3. The leader anticipated the need of their followers.
4. The leader knew that his task and those of the other minders were to get the children back home to their parents safely.
5. The leader was mindful of what his actions and those of his followers could cause the other commuters.
6. The leader gave clear instruction and reassured the pupils.
7. The leader made sure he was clearly understood.
8. The leader prepared for any and every eventualities.
9. The leader delegated responsibilities in case he was not there.
10. The leader got the job done and achieved the aim of getting the pupils to their desired destination.
