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Guide Your Canoe Part 2
“We were talking about balancing the power in the team, James,” I said.
“Right,” he said pausing a moment to bring his mind back to that moment a few weeks ago. “In paddling this means that everyone has to put their oars in the water at the same time and come out of the water at the same time.
“And here’s the point,” he said. “If you balance the power, the steersman doesn’t have to steer.” James’ voice was near a whisper again.
“Help me understand that in context,” I replied.
His eyes lit up. “When you balance the power it allows the steersman to paddle with
the team so that the team can pull ahead in the race.”
“It’s the same in a high performance business team. If the team works well and blends together the leader doesn’t have to spend time managing the team.”
“Exactly,” he said. “In a well trained paddling team the team blends and becomes one. A team that manages itself is unbeatable.”
He paused reflectively and leaned closer to me as he whispered, “But here’s the heart of the secret of a great paddling team. Every member of the team has to feel the mana (energy and spirit) of the ocean, feel the current, and feel what the boat is doing. Then each person has to discern what he or she needs to do to get the boat to the finish line. Everyone has to be in touch with it all and become one with the mana of the boat. If you take care of your boat, your boat in turn, will care for you.”
So there is is from a master Hawaiian paddler and trainer. I think the metaphor speaks for itself. Thank you, James Stupplebeen for the lesson in leadership and team!
Guide Your Canoe Part 1 of 2 or Maybe 3
Paddling a canoe across the sea takes a team. A master paddler and coach shared his secrets with me. It is about each man or woman on the team as he or she relates to the sea, the wind, the current, the canoe, the moment, and finally the entire team.
James Stupplebeen is a humble and quite man. He fairly whispered. And as he did, his eyes lit up with passion for the art. I had to lean towards him to hear his simple yet profound words.
As he spoke, I realized that not purely about paddling. It was about any group of people working together towards a single goal. It was about any team. It was about you and me as we live and work together in our schools or organizations.
I thought of the hundreds of teams that I work with and coach. And I thought of you in leadership positions who lead and facilitate your teams.
“It is about blending,” he said quietly. “And it’s about trust,” he paused. “It’s about
controlling your power and not overpowering.”
Our eyes locked. I could feel his peaceful presence and the world around us seemed to fall away. James was sharing something he loved deeply, something close to his heart. It was as if his soul was trying to translate its wisdom into words.
Our meeting was short. It was right after a training and I had another meeting to attend. “There’s more,” he said quietly. And we promised to meet again after the next workshop.
So here my perspective on what James said to me about team that day:
- Paddling is an activity that requires the same energy, alignment and fluidity as being on any high performing work team.
- You (as the leader) have to blend and harmonize with the team. And team members have to blend with each other.
- You have to trust each member of the team. There must be clarity and transparency within the team.
- Each team member, and especially the leader, has to control their power so as not to overpower each other. This balance of power keeps the boat balanced and empowers team members to go with the flow of each other.
How Do You Define Success?
The dictionary says that success is defined as “the attainment of popularity or profit,” or “a person that achieves desired aims or prosperity.”
That may be the world’s definition of success, but I define success as a measurement of the heart that only the heart can know. In other words even if the world says that something is successful, if you don’t feel successful in your heart of hearts… what is that kind of success really worth?
I have coached hundreds if not thousands of people and many have shared their stories with me. Success is a feeling, an inner knowing, a sense of contentment at a job well done.
To me Success and Significance are sisters, two sides of the same coin. First I feel successful within myself and then I begin to step up and out to support and help others. Remember that success is winning and significance is helping others win.
When you live a life of significance, you feel truly successful. It is the satisfaction and fulfillment that comes from helping others win.
Louise Mckay is doing just that. She is one of the three principals that came to my home in
Hawaii for a private training. She shared with me recently that she returned to her school to hold their first staff meeting of the year and introduced the word HONOR as the focus word for the year.
Then she invited the entire to team to generate a list of ‘honoring words’ that could use in addressing one another.
The team came up with thirty or more honoring ways to speak with each other. Below are just a few:
- Would it be ok if…
- If you were in my shoes, what would you want me to say or do?
- Would you tell me what your biggest concern is…
- Can we work on this together?
- How is this working for you?
- What are your thoughts on…?
- Thank you for telling me
Louise is thrilled and amazed at the difference it has made in the atmosphere on campus. I encourage all of you who lead a team of any kind to follow in the model Louise has given us.
- Introduce the word – you might use HONOR or RESPECT or KINDNESS. You choose the word.
- Look it up in the dictionary with the team.
- Brainstorm a working definition that the team can agree on together .
- Divide the room into teams. Ask them to come up with words they could use when addressing each other that would reflect honor or respect or kindness that they agreed on.
And have fun with it. Louise tells me that the entire atmosphere in her school has shifted in a positive way. There is magic and joy through improved relationships and the work flows more easily!
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