I was travelling recently and saw one of those simple acts of leadership that so often goes unnoticed.

The plane was getting crowded and a young lady boarded with her foot in one of those big, bulky boots due to a bad sprain or broken ankle.  She had crutches and was struggling with her small bag, crutches and narrow aisle.  As she made her way slowly, a young man stood up and motioned for a flight attendant.  He stopped the girl and talked to the flight attendant.  He was asking if the seat next to him were free.  The flight attendant looked at her seating chart and said yes.  The young man then took her bag and crutches and moved things around in the overhead bin to accommodate her stuff.  Finally, he moved over to the middle seat and gave the aisle seat to her.

Now this really struck me.  Here is a young man comfortably sitting in an aisle seat who gave up his comfort (for a 3 and ½ hour journey mind you) to help this young lady.  He took the bull by the horns.

That’s leadership, people helping others without regard for themselves.  Imagine that – servant leadership on a billboard!