Lessons “Post-mortem” from a Missed Flight Connection

A few years ago, I led a domestic mission trip with my church to Minnesota to work alongside some partner organizations in Minneapolis.  I was the leader (project manager) in charge of training the team of high school students, preparing the additional chaperones/leaders, and communicating with all stakeholders (students, parents, church leaders, and partner organization).  The week long trip happened in July and the team was selected in February.  Between February and July, there were seven training meetings to discuss team roles, expectations, and build team unity. 

“Project managers must see that everything gets done satisfactorily” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer, 2008, p.10).  As the trip leader, all decisions went through me and my inbox was consistently full and needing attention.  Since I was working with high school students, it was very important for me to communicate not only with them but with their parents to keep them all informed.  I also learned the importance of delegating tasks and ensuring full understanding is present.  For example, when we landed in Atlanta (for a layover), I asked another leader to check the flight status.  He doesn't fly often and looked at the preprinted ticket.  An hour later, we missed our connection flight and had to wait a few extra hours at the airport until we could find another flight to Minneapolis.  I had made the assumption that he knew to check the airline flight status board – as  leader, I should have clarified and checked for understanding.  Clear communication is key!  However, when students reflected about the trip, the airport time was one of the highlights by the students and most frequently told stories.

Something I would like to improve upon in the future would be estimating costs.  The rough estimate was based on the information available at the time based on prior flight cost, partner costs for events/outreach, transportation, and meals.  However, once the trip got closer, it was clear that our costs were under budget.  This isn't a problem expect for the fact that students were fundraising in order to participate.  Since the cost was over-estimated, the teens struggled to gain enough financial support.  Project managers “should be sure to review the plans and resolve any questions and issues” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer, 2008, p.125) about the budget.  In my role, I should have changed (or advocated to change) the price requirements so that the communicated cost was closer to the actual cost of the trip.

As I reflect on the overall trip – it was great and the students were challenged not only in their faith but also in their perspective of the United States.  This trip was a catalyst for many students to begin volunteering in their local community afterwards. 

Reference:

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.