{The prompt picture, from Friday Fictioneers, makes me think of a corporate retreat, and what might happen there. Thank you for the prompt and for coming to read!}
Sally’s SUV glided to a halt. Her manicured fingertip cut the engine.
The smell of new leather hit her nostrils. New company car. New job. New opportunities for leadership.
She smiled in the rear-view, then scowled, as her phone buzzed.
Someone slid Sally’s purse off her shoulder. “Your cell phone,” he demanded.
Sally gripped it tighter. “But I …I’m the CEO!”
Phone secured, the greeter fastened Sally’s blindfold.
They passed a conga-line of likewise blindfolded employees, each trespassing, with trusting fingertips, on shoulders ahead,
He guided her elbow, to the head of the line.
“You’re the CEO. So lead.”
A kidnap attempt or just a trainer playing trust games?
Only intended as a corporate retreat trust exercise, but who knows?
Dear Andrea,
My question is the same as Neel’s. I’m guessing trust games. Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Kind of a trial by fire for a new executive. 😊
Well, she wants to be a CEO, I guess she has to take the responsibility that comes with it!
Yup. Kind of the “blind leading the blind” if I may be so politically incorrect and insensitive.
Well, that was a novel take 🙂 If you’re going to lead, I guess you have to gain the trust of your followers.
Thank you, linda–I think? 😊
Maybe not quite what she was expecting 🙂
Never know what your first day on the job will be like!
God I hate these games!
Well done, though!
Thanks Dale. Sorry to make you relive it! Trust games and disability simulations can both leave us with a sense of diminished power and autonomy.
Absolutely.
Nice test of leadership skill. A CEO / leader should be able to lead his / her team into uncharted territory with confidence when CEO also does not know what to expect.
Thank you Abhijit! It should definitely be a challenge and an opportunity for her to show what she’s made of!
This is a trust game I’ve never heard of before. I’m glad I never had to go through that. A good story, Andrea. I liked the dialogue. 🙂 — Suzanne
Thanks. I’ve never been to such an event either, but i have heard of disability trainings, where people are either required to spend the day in a wheelchair or to try to maneuver everyday spaces while blindfolded. Makes you appreciate how much of a challenge getting around can be, with a physical disability. I’m beginning to appreciate those challenges even more, with a loved one finishing up rehab and facing re-integration into the “real world “. Thanks for coming by Patricia!
You challenged me as a reader, then I smiled at the ending, great piece of writing
Thank you Michael, that’s lovely to hear!
Wonder where the game is headed. Great story. 😄