I read an interesting piece of news, regarding the Captain of a King Fisher Airlines plane, disembarking an unruly passenger, yesterday.
A few years ago, on a trip back to India from Bangkok, I was seated beside a gent who took off with his liquor, as soon as the plane was airborne. He downed cocktails at the speed of light! Soon the chap was drunk & demanding more. When the cabin crew politely declined, he got abusive & demanded to see the "Pilot". The frightened girl called the flight steward, who tried to calm the situation down, even as the decibel level grew and the rarefied air was thick with expletives.All of a sudden, the cockpit door burst open & the Commander, a Brit, strode down the aisle and asked what was going on. After getting the full picture- he told the drunk passenger, that he would be clapped in irons ( hand cuffed ) and locked in a toilet. The silence that followed was deafening. There was no further issue & the rest of the journey was very uneventful.
A friend of mine, a erstwhile helicopter pilot, told of me of an interesting incident, when he was flying a senior politician. Prior to take off the weather turned bad & my friend refused to fly. The politician was furious and threatened the pilot with dire consequences. My friend stood his ground & still refused to fly. The next day the politician, invited him to breakfast & apologized for his unreasonable behavior!
The point I'm trying to make is that responsibility calls for authority.To handle great responsibility you need great authority. Many a time we are quick off the blocks to frame, rules & responsibilities, for our subordinates without giving them adequate authority to carry the responsibility.When they fail ( which they will ), we question their competence. There can be no responsibility without authority, is what you will find if you read the Japan Convention on Air Safety. On an aircraft the Captain's decision reigns supreme & the next time you have the urge to be naughty on an aircraft, watch your step.
The bigger picture is for managers, to exercise caution, before they delegate responsibility!Don't forget the authority part.....................
6 comments:
Sir, have you read animal farm. It gives an insight why people cannot effectively handle power and responsibility.I feel in the cases you have mentioned people were overtly exhibiting their incapabilities which is still better than people who are covert and misuse power by taking decisions which affect the masses...
AAK,
I guess my communication wasn't clear.
I was saying that exercising authority is very important for the larger good. Unfortunately many a time we are happy to delegate responsibility but not give authority.
You will appreciate my comments when you start working.....
In the incidents mentioned above, the concerned exercised the right authority, that they had.
Yes, I have read 'Animal Farm', a take on the commies & no I was not talking about dictators, in this blog!
Hi Captain,
Well explained the power of "Authority".Responsibility and Authority they compliment each other and enhance their value.
For the efficiency and the effectiveness one should always delegate the responsibility coupled with authority.It is the duty of the person with the Authority to be Responsible too.
with great power comes great responsibility... in spiderman movie they didn't tell that vice- versa of it also holds true:) likewise in real life also shoulders are often burdened with responsibility without giving requisite authority...this actually demotivates employees...as recognition is one motivating factor.so great responsibility should come with some power too:)
Henry Fayol rightly says, "Parity of Authority and Responsibility".
as said power or authority comes only with a responsibility. we all take decision but a good leader is the person who takes the right decision at the right time in a very balanced way that is beneficial to all!!!!!!!! :)
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