Steering The Boat
We went white water rafting once when the river flow was very high (read fast). It was exciting and exhausting at the same time. For our guide to steer, the boat had to be going faster than the water—which means we had to paddle like mad. Conversely, we have also rafted when the flow was low (read slow), and we were able to move the boat around with much less effort, but it took a lot longer to get down river.
On the other end of the spectrum are large, ocean-going cargo ships. These “boats” can be over 1,000 feet long and 200 feet wide. They are controlled by a rudder that can be hundreds of square feet and up to 100 tons in weight. Unlike our comparatively tiny raft which can turn quickly, these large ships can take miles to turn.
As a leader, you are the rudder for your ship (your organization or community). Your boat follows many of the same physical laws as our raft or that cargo ship. If we understand them, we can work with them to take us where we want to go. We ignore them at our peril, but, more critically, at the peril of the people we serve.
You have to be moving faster than the surrounding water to steer. If you toss a raft in the river, it will go downstream. On its way, it will strike objects in the river, get spun around, and might even get trapped or capsized. Being swept downriver is not steering. Steering requires the application of sufficient power to achieve a speed greater than your surroundings. It is your responsibility to inspire and direct that power.
Scale matters, and it is not always a good thing. Be careful what you wish for. Large ships are impressive and can carry enormous amounts of cargo. Their rudders (leaders) are large and impressive. They also take forever to turn (react to new conditions), and if the rudder (leader) is damaged, they are dead in the water. There are some efficiencies in scale, but those come at the price of loss of agility.
If we could have the best of both worlds, it might look like a lot of small boats (each capable of quicker adjustments) that stayed together and followed a common path (vision). Individual boats could steer into the best flow for their process and could even come and go from ports without having to dock the whole ship. You could still achieve most of the economy of scale.
That’s a lot of analogy. Let’s talk practical application. Overdependence on a large leader appears economical and efficient but sets a community up for catastrophic failure if the leader fails or departs. Solution? Distribute your power. Be intentional about empowering other people in your organization to make decisions appropriate to their level of responsibility.
Growing leaders around you creates the agility of an army of small boats that can act like a huge cargo ship when necessary. However, growing leaders requires trust (yours and theirs), humility (yours), and confidence. The first two are pretty straightforward. Why confidence? Leaders that fail to surround themselves with people who are capable and talented are afraid of being replaced, outperformed, or outshone.
A confident leader understands their role isn’t to “do” everything; it is to inspire and lead others to accomplish the common vision. Confident leaders love to share the limelight—in fact, they would rather push others onto the stage than be there themselves. Confident leaders care more about the integrity of the community than their egos.
Leaders steer the boat, but great leaders empower the people around them to be part of the steering mechanism. Remember, if you’re not moving faster than the water around, you are drifting, not steering. Big rudders can turn big ships, but it’s slow and risky. Communities that value trust, responsibility, and humility grow leaders and create agile communities the Bison Way.