At one point in the winding airport security line this morning, I made the turn and found there were three different directions I could go—left, right or straight. Wth no clear indication which was the right route, I picked one, only to have one of the agents yell, “Sir! This way!” and point the opposite direction. I then watched this cycle repeat itself with traveler after traveler for 15 minutes. Confused travelers would pick a direction. If they chose wrong, they got yelled at.
That system this morning was broken. Yet not one of the multiple agents on hand thought to actually fix the problem. One of them could have easily reconfigured the barriers or even just stood at the spot of confusion to direct people. One person, someone who cared enough to fix it, could have made that problem go away.
If you want to become instantly more valuable to a group, team, employer or organization, be a fixer. If something isn’t working, be smart and do something about it. If it’s not your job to fix it, fix it anyway. Don’t just watch (or yell).