Rules or guidelines?

After disembarking the airplane around 11:15 p.m., returning from our holidays, we headed down the airport corridor towards baggage claim. The flight arrived about 15 minutes late, and we and the other passengers seemed to be the only customers remaining in the C terminal.

When we reached the security exit point, one agent was drawing a metal door closed, while another barked, “This exit is closed.” 

Instead of going straight to the Terminal C baggage claim, she instructed us to walk all the way to the next terminal, Terminal B, then proceed to that baggage claim, and then turn right and walk back to Terminal C’s baggage claim.

Rules vs. judgment

A supervisor explained that his team was obligated to close those metal doors by 11 p.m. The security team had already missed that closure deadline by 15 minutes.

Could somebody have used good judgment to let 100 travel-weary people walk through that still-open door, postponing the closure by another 10 or 15 minutes? Would that really have been a problem?

Take a look at your organization. Are there rules getting the better of people’s judgment?