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Clearview® Performance Systems brings you ... ® ... a Culture of Results & Engagement®

Here's the next in our series of weekly managerial TIPS (Techniques, Insights, and Practical Solutions)
to help you better engage your team in the activities that lead to higher performance.

CORE Bites Issue #108
(January 19, 2021)

The SHIP in LeaderSHIP (Metaphorically Speaking)

If you've been reading CORE Bites for a while, or if you've attended any of my training programs or keynote speeches, you'll know that I'm a big believer in the power of metaphors. So, if you're continually striving to be a better leader, I believe today's metaphor will be very relevant ...

My childhood hero was discovered in a fairly innocuous way when I was about seven years old. My parents bought me a book written by Jacques Cousteau, the co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung (the equipment used for what we now know as scuba diving). This book was filled with stunning photographs—as I turned each page I was exploring regions on the planet very few people ever get to see. While I was enamored by all the beautiful coral reefs, fascinating fish, and underwater caves, what really got my attention were the shipwrecks. Yes! Pirates ... adventure ... intrigue ... treasure! (Hey ... I was only 7 years old!)

But what started out as a simple childhood interest evolved into a passion as I grew up. I was certified in scuba at fifteen years of age and, since then, I've done dives all over the world, with a large percentage of them dedicated to—you guessed it—shipwrecks.

"But what," you're probably wondering, "do shipwrecks have to do with an article on leadership?" A great deal! Here's why ...

During one particularly interesting dive, while studying the remains of a ship lying at the bottom at about 120 feet, I had a sudden—and profound—realization. Here on the ocean floor—in essence, what I'd been treating for years as a playground for my recreational pleasure—was, in fact, the remnants of a disaster! It was a place where lives had been lost, families had been torn apart, and businesses had struggled (or failed altogether) because their source of revenue now lay on the bottom of the bay or ocean.

This sobering realization immediately changed how I viewed diving as a hobby and became the impetus to learn more about these ships and, especially, the circumstances leading to their demise.

It was during this journey into the charts and history books that I discovered many interesting parallels between the factors contributing to a ship's sinking and leadership and what's needed today to keep an organization 'afloat' (sustainable growth), capable of reaching its desired 'safe harbor' (excellent results), in spite of turbulent seas and inclement weather (change, competition, economic disruption, pandemics, etc.). The parallels I discovered can be summarized in a simple - yet powerful - phrase:

When a Ship Misses the Harbor, It's Rarely the Harbor's Fault!®

In the HVAs that follow are just a few of the contributing factors found in my research and the corresponding parallels to what contemporary leaders need to focus on to ensure their teams always find a safe harbor.

High Value Activity (HVA) Action Steps

In society and in business there are many modern-day 'shipwrecks' that can be tied directly to the lack of leadership. One of the ways we grow is by learning from the mistakes of others—in essence, learning from 'history' can make us better leaders for tomorrow. Each of the HVAs I've listed should be looked at separately to determine how you might incorporate these learnings into your leadership approach.

  • Contributing Factor #1: Ship was off-course: One of the leading causes of shipwrecks is the result of the ship being off-course. In earlier times, sailors didn't have fancy navigation systems. Instead, they relied on the stars and when those stars were obscured by poor weather, ship captains had no way to determine the correct course. Understandably, some of these ships ended up running aground and sinking.The parallel here should be obvious—could an organization, or a division or region, or a department, or even a project team, find itself 'off-course' if the direction is unclear? If employees can't see where they're heading (or why)? If the vision for the future is obscured by the fog of ambiguity, ambivalence, or indecision? Absolutely! And if these pernicious practices continue unabated, we have the makings of a potential shipwreck! What can you do TODAY to offer more clarity to your team and keep your ship on course?
  • Contributing Factor #2: Poor communication: Poor communication has also been identified as a leading contributing cause of shipwrecks. The Titanic is a perfect example of a communication breakdown that resulted in a major disaster. Lack of communication, both among the Titanic's crew, and with other vessels that could have assisted in a rescue, is cited as a major contributing factor. Fast forward to today, even though we have a wide variety of communication tools available to us within workplace settings, poor communication is still one of the key dysfunctions identified when we discover that employees aren't fully engaged, or aren't feeling empowered, or lack clarity and understanding. Should we have some cause for concern? Absolutely ... another potential shipwreck! What can you do TODAY to increase the effectiveness of your communication to ensure your ship makes it to a safe harbor?
  • Contributing Factor #3: Low standards: There was a time when the only test of a ship's seaworthiness was whether it was still afloat; when repairs were only done when needed (often at sea); when a little water seeping in was viewed as 'normal.' So, it should come as no surprise to learn that innumerable ships were lost due to low standards of seaworthiness. Any of the aforementioned 'standards' might have been reasonable under optimal conditions but, when conditions became compromised due to weather or extreme conditions, many ships proved to be less than capable of "weathering the storm." Within organizations, I frequently find a similar phenomenon caused by a lack of robust, continuous improvement standards that, in turn, are caused by the "We're doing pretty good, so why change anything?" syndrome. Or, companies where inconsistency and high variability between top performers and low performers is the norm. Or, organizations where people have come to believe it's more important to "look great" than to BE great. It's an irrefutable truth that when an organization measures itself against the 'averages,' the best it will ever get is average. If this type of thinking permeates an organization, should we have some cause for concern? Absolutely ... another potential shipwreck! What can you do TODAY to improve upon the standards of excellence that you expect from your team?

I'd love to hear how these HVAs work for you!

Neil Dempster, PhD, MBA
RESULTant™ and Behavioral Engineer

Quote of the Week

"The only safe ship in a storm is leadership."

— Faye Wattleton —

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