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Sarah Langslow
Enabling women in senior leadership roles to realise their full potential as high-impact leaders and effective influencers through 1:1 coaching - Leadership development - Speaking - Executive Coaching
Sarah Langslow is an Executive Leadership Coach and Leadership Development specialist with certification from the International Coaching Federation as a Professional Certified Coach.
With a background in finance and management consulting, Sarah Langslow transitioned to coaching after reaching senior leadership positions and completing an MBA from the Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge.
She specializes in helping women in senior leadership roles bridge the gap between managing and truly leading, empowering them to unlock their full potential and achieve exceptional results.
Sarah Langslow has a strong commitment to fostering diverse leadership and empowering women to bring their voices powerfully into the conversation.
Her coaching approach focuses on building presence, enhancing communication, and driving significant positive change in leadership mindset and performance.
Having worked with numerous clients in various organizational settings, both large and small, Sarah Langslow brings a unique blend of professional expertise and personal experience to her coaching practice.
She prioritizes creating a supportive and empowering environment for her clients, serving as a dedicated partner and advocate in helping them overcome self-doubt, maximize their abilities, and achieve outstanding success in their leadership roles.
Highlights
Another week, another excruciating example of poor communication.
Delta Airlines pilot Laura Haynor was giving evidence in the Minnesota State Senate on sick and safe time in the state.
In her introduction she uses the word pilot (or pilots) no fewer than four times: “Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf of the Airline Pilots Association International - the largest pilot union in the world with more than 2400 pilots in Minnesota” “My name is Laura Haynor and I’m a…pilot for Delta Airlines.”
Sen. Gene Dornick’s opening question: “Can you tell me what a typical work week looks like for you as a stewardess?”
🤦🏼♀️🙄
There aren’t enough facepalm or eye roll emojis in the world to cover this one.
Quite aside from the casual, everyday sexism, and use of an outdated gendered title, he simply was not listening properly. Arguably at all.
Was he thinking more about his first question than what she was saying? Was he listening through his own biased assumption that a female would be a member of cabin crew rather than a pilot?
Whatever the reason, it is a great example of a micro-interaction that disrespected the other person and was quite frankly insulting.
Someone at the side corrects him, before Laura herself corrects him, twice.
He then says: “I’m sorry, I apologise”
Followed by waving his hand away in a slightly dismissive fashion (at least to me) while glancing away.
“I don’t know why I said that, I’m sorry” while also speaking over her as she tried to continue.
It felt like he was more interested in mitigating his own (understandable) discomfort, playing the error down and moving on, than actually apologising properly.
So yes, he apologised. And, I think he could have responded better. Because this small stuff matters.
Had he slowed down, looked directly at her and said something like: “I'm, so sorry. That was disrespectful of me to not listen to you properly, I apologise. Please continue.” That would have felt like a real apology.
It’s not only about listening well in the first place, but about how we react and respond when we get stuff wrong. Because inevitably, we will.
The full video is linked in the comments.
#leadership #smallstuffbigimpact #listening #dosweatthesmallstuff
Want to learn about the impact of your own micro-interactions? And how to have them supercharge (rather than undermine) your leadership? Do Sweat the Small Stuff - my upcoming book - is out on 9th July. Available for pre-order online now (link in the comments). And if you’re ready to get to work now? Let’s chat.
