Leadership Lessons from the Beac
Theoretically, it's spring in Minnesota. This has many of us thinking about the warmer days ahead. My family and I took advantage of the pandemic winter and went south to a lovely place called Tybee Island. There, we distance-worked and distance-schooled, doing so from a different four walls. Not surprisingly, I discovered there were leadership lessons at the beach!
Consider this: Have you ever gone for a run at the beach? What is the picture you have in your mind when you think about doing so?
I didn't have much experience with beach running. In my mind, it was idyllic. I envisioned watching and hearing the crashing waves and smelling the ocean breeze while running in a t-shirt and shorts instead of my marvelous Minnesota winter gear. I figured there might be challenges running in the sand, but I was prepared for that and excited about it!
What I didn't anticipate was the wind and how brutal the headwinds would be. It was quite a surprise! At first, I thought it would just be that day. But each day that passed added evidence that it was going to be every day!
It really was brutal running into the headwinds. Not only did it make the time on the beach colder, but it was also extremely physically challenging to simply move forward!
But there is something important to recognize about headwinds. Working through them results in the enjoyment of a tailwind to finish. And, oh, it was so much easier to run with the wind at my back. I quickly learned how important it was to always start by running into the wind first. The result of the effort into the headwind means rewards later when I was tired.
Of course, there is a leadership lesson in the headwinds and tailwinds.
Leadership Headwinds & Tailwinds
Teams and leaders experience headwinds and tailwinds too.
Headwinds:
Starting a new project
Onboarding a new employee
Implementing a new technology
Improving a process
Just about everything in a pandemic
Tailwinds:
Reaping rewards of the project
High performing employee
Technology improved performance
Process improvement results realized
The benefits of using what you have learned in the pandemic after the pandemic
Here are some ideas I learned about running in the headwind and how it can apply to your leadership challenges (adapted from 10 Tips to Help with Running in the wind):
Accept the wind: Accept the challenges that come up. Challenge is normal. Accept many things worth doing will be hard and take extra effort. Resisting the situation takes even more effort on top of managing the challenge. Accepting challenging conditions doesn't mean you have to love them. It means you acknowledge that they're there and put your energy towards working with the situation as best as possible.
Adjust technique: Use this as an opportunity to test out different approaches to see what works best and learn from the experience. As Adam Grant, Organizational Psychologist at Warton, states in his most recent book Think Again, "We live in a rapidly changing world, where we need to spend as much time rethinking as we do thinking." In what ways could you rethink how you are approaching a challenge that has come up?
Mental advantage: Facing challenges builds your mental muscle as a leader. It creates resilience for facing challenging situations. It gives you a mental advantage and prepares you for the next time you face a challenge. Recognize that what you are doing now will serve you in the future.
Enjoy the wind: I know, I just said that you don't have to love it. But forcing yourself to laugh at just how hard it is at times can create enjoyment in the whole process. I found that pausing and laughing at how hard the wind was blowing (I would actually laugh out loud!) was helpful. I also noticed and appreciated the tailwinds even more, when I did this.
Plan Ahead: Plan for and anticipate that challenges will continue to come up. Once I knew there were strong winds, I chose to run in the headwinds first and to enjoy the tailwinds at the end. What effort could you put in upfront for a challenge you face that may help you enjoy the benefits later on?
What are the headwinds and tailwinds you've been facing?
2020 felt like one heckuva long run into headwinds. We are ready for tailwinds. How can we reap the rewards of the effort we put over the last year to enjoy tailwinds this year?
Consider these reflection questions to help you reap a tailwind:
What headwinds have you faced in the past six months that will provide the tailwinds for the next six months?
What's one way to lean in on the headwinds right now so you can enjoy the tailwinds in the future?
What headwind do you need to run into now to get the tailwind later?
Eric Zakovich is the founder and principal consultant of Long Run Leadership Consulting. He works with leaders, teams, and organizations to improve their leadership capabilities and achieve their 'long run.'