Many new leaders envision leading successfully as smooth sailing… when everything is going right. NOT! Now, let me say that when things were going well in the organizations I led or managed, I enjoyed the respite. But it was, indeed, a respite. What makes leading fun is the excitement of navigating the chaos, or perceived chaos, of ever-changing forces. The fun is in the challenge.
During the lulls, I often found myself wondering what would break next. I never knew. And the ensuing storms that were stirring up never disappointed me in terms of uniqueness. Getting through those storms was fun, though! It may not have seemed so while navigating them, but, surely, once they had calmed down and I took the time to assess what just happened, I felt successful, having survived. Until the next storm.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “It’s the not the destination, it’s the journey.” I think that’s a perfect way to describe the fun of leading. Yeah, it’s great to get there, but what then? Yeah, enjoy it, but for only a little bit. Then get back into the fray where your skills and talents are pushed, even to their limits. That’s fun!
I don’t surf. I stay away from bodies of water bigger than a small puddle. I grew up in the desert. In New Mexico. There’s a lot of desert there and very little water. Yeah, that was my attempt at a Yogiism. Anyways, I just read a pretty cool book written by my friend and mentor, Noah benShea, and Shaun Tomson, who does surf. Like for reals! Shaun is a world champion surfer. The book is titled, The Surfer and the Sage: A Guide to Survive and Ride Life’s Waves. Throughout the book, Shaun refers to waiting for the waves, and the bigger the better. The challenge of surfing is surviving and mastering the wave you catch. It’s exhilarating and fun, evidently. It takes a lot of skill and as you’re navigating the wave you have to be shifting your stance and your body to ensure you master the wave.
Leading is like that. The fun of having led successfully is in the journey, the having to use all of your skills and maybe developing some on the fly. I’m a musician. A jazzer, or so I think of myself as such. The art of jazz is in improvising. You know the tune and you play around it. Similarly, in leading, you have some tools that you can use to guide others to where you want them to go, or where they need to go (that’s even better), and you improvise how and with whom you apply those tools. And, yeah, it’s great when you achieve the objective, but the fun was in the way you got there. Once you’re done, you’re ready for another trial.
If you think that leading successfully will feel smooth, you’re in the wrong business. “We did that” isn’t as much fun as “we’re doing that.” As John Shedd once said, “Ships in harbour are safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” They’re built to navigate the seas. Leadership is the same (See what I did there?). The harbour is not where the fun is. The fun is in the sailing. Enjoy the challenge. Have fun!
Until next time,
Be GREAT! You ARE!
HEIRPOWER!
bob vásquez!
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