Leadership is not easy! Ta-da…the secret is out!

Let me state the obvious. Leadership is not easy.

Never has been…never will be. There will be days when the last thing you may want to do is lead! There will be times when you will have a desperate need to want to just sit in the back of the bus and watch the street blocks go by!

It’s a natural response when you take on a role of leadership. As invincible as you may think you need to be, yes, there will be days when the last thing you ever want to do is stand in front of the band as it makes its way down the parade route!

“Let them lead themselves! They don’t listen to me half the time anyway!”

When that moment of hesitation or doubt arrives, stand in front of the mirror, look at yourself and ask one question and one question only.

“Did you expect this to be easy?”

If you answer yes, then you need to re-visit why you have taken on the responsibility of leading others. If you answer no, then a great opportunity to raise your team’s game is at hand!

First and foremost, it’s not your job to make the team succeed, it’s your job to put the team in a position to succeed. One man or woman does not make a team but a leader that continues to search for growth opportunities within his/herself and the team does!

“High-risk leadership beckons many, but few accept the call. Apollo 13 succeeded at critical moments like this because the bosses had no hesitation about assigning crucial tasks to one individual, trusting his judgment, and then getting out of his way.” Apollo 13 Flight Director Gene Kranz

Leading others is a great responsibility. It’s personal. It requires someone who is special and is led by the single-minded desire to see other’s succeed. It requires someone who recognizes the day to day investment and sacrifices his team makes.

Think about it…when someone punches the clock for a total of 40 hours a week, that is a third of their week.  Yes, one could argue that the company has an investment in them and they should just do their jobs, but do not lose sight of the fact that the employee has also invested in the company and the investment they make in terms of effort, focus, going the extra mile will reflect the type of leadership they receive, good, bad or indifferent.

Hiring someone or someone accepting a job offer is a professional decision influenced by a series of personal circumstances, unique to each company and individual.

Great leadership equals buy in…bad leadership equals buy-out!

Leadership is not about one person sitting atop the mountain enjoying providence over all as it was in pre-70’s business world, but rather an open journey that is built on a foundation of trust, patience, communication and respect.

Self-correction is key to leadership success. Without it, you will fall into the trap of simply repeating the same mistakes!

When it comes to leadership, there is never the “hit a walk-off home run and win the game” moment. You may hit a home run but there is always another game, another plate appearance and an opportunity to either hit a home run or strike out.

It doesn’t matter if you lead a team of 500 or a team of 5!  Leadership is a tenuous journey.

“Leadership is fragile. It is more a matter of mind and heart than resources, and it seemed that we no longer had the heart for those things that demanded discipline, commitment, and risk.” – Gene Kranz – NASA Flight Director.

Don’t be afraid to look in the mirror and remind yourself that it’s not supposed to be easy and you don’t have to be perfect.

Authenticity, patience and passion will reward you. It will also make the investment of your time more than worth it.

 

Ken Evraire is an award-winning leadership coach and team builder. As a former professional athlete, he has learned a from great coaches and learned even more from the bad ones!

To contact Ken email him at ken@kenevraire.com.

To learn more about Ken, visit his website www.ken
evraire.com
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Theseus’ Paradox, Leadership and Team Building

 

 

Time to go back in time to my days at Laurier University circa 1986, for a little Philosophy 101 debate!

Professor Rocky Jacobsen stared out at a room full of first year freshman, similar to the way Donald Sutherland looked upon his class in the cult classic movie, Animal House. Like the class in Animal House, most of us were hungover.  A Friday morning Philosophy 101 session was considered a bird class. The only real challenge was waking up and getting to class. After that, your mere presence pretty well guaranteed you a passing grade.

How would Rocky connect with the class?  How would he engage us and capture our interest? He shared a story about Theseus.

Theseus is remembered in Greek mythology as the slayer of the Minotaur.  For years, the Athenians had been sending sacrifices to be given to the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull beast who inhabited the labyrinth of Knossos.  One year, Theseus braved the labyrinth, and killed the Minotaur.   The ship in which he returned was long preserved. As parts of the ship needed repair, it was rebuilt plank by plank.

“If Theseus sails his ship from port A to port B and has every piece of the ship replaced en route is it the same ship?”

This was all part of his introducing the ship of Theseus, also known as Theseus’ Paradox.  We would learn that it is a thought experiment that raises the question of whether an object, which has had all of its components replaced, remains fundamentally the same object. 

Well, the classroom lit up and the healthy debate began.  Is it the same ship? Yes?  No?  Maybe so?  Why?  Professor Jacobsen played the role of traffic cop in the middle of a jammed roundabout as the back and forth picked up energy!

Some built an argument around the physics and how no two items are exactly the same.  Some went with it has to be based on the fact that the ship was named and therefore retains its identity.  Back and forth the argument would go like a tennis match being played at warp speed. 

I watched the energy rise from the periphery because I was both hungover and struck by the story but from a completely different angle.  A team building angle. I imagined the ship’s captain calling his crew together to explain their mission.

“Lads, listen up. Can I have your attention?   So, we are going to set sail and before we hit land, I want us to replace every piece of the ship.   The journey is perilous but I think we can do it! Are you with me?   Yes or no?”

Wow, what type of pregame speech did he have in his treasure chest to convince his crew to sign on for this adventure?  How prepared would he have to be when asked the inevitable what, when, where, who, why and how questions?

How did Theseus get his team to buy in?  There had to have been a history of trust, transparency, communication and collaboration for everyone to buy in.  There had to have been a record of success forged from previous challenging situations within the group.

When the captain declares that the entire ship needs to be replaced en route, is the response, “We can’t do that…I would rather drown in a tavern than at sea!” or is it “Okay, I am kind of digging your idea but I need more info?”. It may be, “Sure..whatever you say Captain!”, which is quite dangerous. 

Roles and expectations will change and trusting that everyone will strive to achieve a high degree of competency, no matter the role will be key.  Becoming adaptable in the face of crisis will be a requirement.

I didn’t care if it was the same boat or not.  I cared about what it would take to keep the boat afloat and I would have to trust everyone on the ship before I signed on. 

Which leads me to what I would do if I was the captain. My leadership approach would rest upon 4 elements.

Connect, Communicate, Collaborate, Compete to Conquer 

 

Connect is the first step in the process because it allows you to set the tone in terms of how the relationship will begin and what direction it will take. First impressions are everything.  Getting off on the right foot is key.  Be authentic. 

Communicate is step number two.  Let’s lay our cards on the table and begin a dialogue.  We may not like everything we hear but we need to hear it so you can build a convincing strategy that will answer everyone’s questions. By communicating, everyone can get a real sense of investment.

Collaborate is an opportunity for the team to address and hopefully answer some questions that the captain does not have an answer for.  This is the problem solving stage.  It the “I am okay with sailing with you but I think I can bring something to the plan that will help the entire group succeed.  Collaboration leads to consensus which is a pillar in team building.

Collaboration leads to the Compete phase.  A plan is in place.  The plan is not etched in stone because there are unpredictable variables that are in play.  What if it rains?  What if we get attacked by a pirate ship?  What if the crew suffers from scurvy?  The mission stays in place but the mapping is open to change.  If you anticipate a journey that takes you on a straight line from point A to point B…you are kidding yourself. 

The process of communicating and collaborating will continue until the goal is reached. Like the sea…there will be an ebb and flow to the journey.  It may mean going back to the drawing board and re-working the problems.  It may mean creating a plan B, C or D.  Being married to a plan has been the Achilles heel for so many teams. Don’t let ego get in the way of evolution!  Being married to the goal and willing to work the plan is the key to any teams success.

Share the what, when, where, who and why and I may sail with you! The Paradox isn’t would you sail with me. It is, what can I say to convince you to sail with me!


Ken Evraire is a quintessential team player who loves coaching, team building and talking leadership!  He is grateful for the opportunity to work with a roster of fantastic clients ranging from the government sector, not for profit agencies, start ups, Fortune 500 companies and elite sports teams.

He is father to 3 precocious children, a former professional football player that has since donated his brain. He has run 3x marathons (Honolulu 2x + Barcelona), done stand up comedy and believes the old school coach was wrong…there is indeed an “i” in Team! 

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