Navigating Leadership Waters
If you've got a problem at work, is it:
a) you
b) other people
c) the environment
d) all of the above.
Have you ever changed jobs, only to find the issue still exists in your new job? This is a definite sign that you thought it was (C - the environment) but it was actually (A - you).
So how do you figure out the cause of the issue before making big changes? In this episode I use a metaphor from Positive Psychology called the Sailboat (I also referenced this tool in podcast episode #60 with Liz Bradford).
I talk through the sailboat, a story about my own 'sailboat', what happened when I moved to Paris, and how you can answer the multi-choice question above by listening to the episode.
Here are three key takeaways:
Know Your Sailboat: Just as a captain must understand every aspect of their vessel, effective leadership begins with self-awareness. Identifying your strengths (sails) and weaknesses (leaks), clarifying your values (steering wheel), and setting clear goals (destination) are crucial steps toward navigating your leadership journey successfully.
Navigate the Waters: Understanding the dynamics of the environment you operate in (life's domains) is essential. Whether it's adapting to change (weather events) or managing relationships (other boats), recognizing the external factors at play allows for more informed decision-making and effective leadership.
Chart Your Course: Leadership is not a solo journey; it's about leading teams toward a common goal. By fostering open dialogue and aligning individual and team objectives, you can create a shared vision and set actionable steps (SMART goals) to propel your organisation forward.
If you find yourself seeking a tailored approach to leadership development or team building, reach out to discuss our workshop options. Whether it's a one-off session or a comprehensive leadership program, I'd love to help you unlock your team's full potential and achieve your desired outcomes.
Remember, small changes can lead to significant growth over time. What 1% will you apply from this week's podcast?
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Episode Transcript:
Speaker 1: 0:04
Welcome to the Level Up Leadership Podcast. This is the go-to podcast for chronically busy leaders and small business owners who are ready to get out of the weeds and start leading. The weekly episodes have micro leadership lessons focused on how to level up your leadership and help you to be 1% better every day. It's all about growing your leadership wisdom, building your team and being the leader people want to work for. So let's get into it. I recently facilitated a workshop for a leadership team in the tech industry using an analogy called the sailboat. Today I want to share a little bit about the sailboat analogy, how it could be helpful for you and a few of the different techniques I spoke about at the workshop and how it helped this leadership team. So firstly, the sailboat metaphor it's something that I learnt through positive psychology and through my positive psychology masters. So the concept is that you are the captain of the sailboat and the sailboat represents a lot of different elements. For example, the sails are your strengths, the leaks in the boat are your weaknesses. The steering wheel is your values. The water that you're in is life's domains, and I'll explain this one in a moment with the story. The destination, so where you're going is your goals and aspirations. The weather is, the different events that happen that are outside your control, and the other boats are the other people that are in your team or other relationships that are outside work. So why is this useful to use as a team? Whenever I look at development from a leadership point of view, it always factors in three different sections. We always look first for self, second for team and third for business or organisation, and the reason this inside out model is so important is if you don't understand yourself and what's important to you, what you value, what your hot buttons are, you are not going to understand other people in your team, what's important to them and their hot buttons, and you are certainly not going to understand a business or be able to inspire a business. So I'll always include an element of self, team and organisation when I do my leadership development, and that might even be just saying at the beginning. These are the three elements as a group, what of these three things are you most interested in? And that can also give a bit of a guide on how the team wants to focus their time.
Speaker 1: 2:27
So back to the sailboat analogy. Why is it useful? Well, if we're a captain in a boat. Often we think, well, I am in a job that I don't like, so the water might be the company that you're in. I'm going to put my sailboat into some other water and that will solve my issues. So it might be that your boat has a leak or there's no wind in the sails and you're not going anywhere and you fell stale and stagnated. So you take your boat and move it to some other water, which is another company. Another question is are you clear on your compass? What is your direction? And one of my other favourites is whose boat is there to help you? And these are great questions to really understand how we can use this analogy to help a leadership team work well together.
Speaker 1: 3:16
Now, as I tell this story, a few people might resonate. When I was in my mid-twenties, I felt a bit unsettled in life and decided to have a quarter-life crisis. So I took the steering wheel of my boat and sailed into New Waters, also known as Moving to Paris. This, on the outside, was a very legitimised reason for moving to the other side of the world, because I was studying at university. In hindsight, I look back and realise my boat and all the different parts, all the leaks and the wind in the sail or lack of wind in the sail all those things was still the same in Paris, even though I had my sail bit in a very different water. So a very different environment, different people, different interactions. I wasn't in the same workplace. Everything was still somewhat the same, and I think this is really important to note when you think that you need to change a relationship or change a job or change a house is to really unpack the difference of is this an issue with the water that I'm in or is this an issue with the boat that I'm the captain of? That if I put my boat in different waters or different situations, will those issues still follow me? And for a number of clients that I have, often it might be the fact that they thought they were going to solve it by changing relationship or changing jobs, but actually the issue was with their boat.
Speaker 1: 4:37
What do I mean by this? The boat might be that they are not feeling inspired in what they're doing. You're not going to feel inspired if you go somewhere else, most likely. How can you find other ways to feel inspired? Another point is the weather events. So if your boat is in its water and all of a sudden, this weather event comes, is noticing the difference between what's new control in your boat and what's water and what's weather. I think COVID is a wonderful example of what the weather was. That was a storm that came through that was out of your control. What you could control was your boat and the leaks that were in it, how good your sail was and how well you sailed in that weather event. Now, of course, there's so many other things that go on to it, but I think you might be able to see how this analogy is helpful.
Speaker 1: 5:28
So how do I use this in a leadership sense? First of all, I give this sailboat technique and worksheet to people within the team and just to jot down a few different notes on what the elements are for them. So this boat that they are captain of, what does it mean to them for their steering wheel or their values or their destination? Do they feel clear on their destination? This is a great one in leadership teams when people will write in that they don't feel clear on the plan ahead. And we've used an analogy of a sailboat to actually get this conversation happening, which would never have come out, or it may not have come out if I hadn't have used an analogy.
Speaker 1: 6:11
The power of a story or an analogy means people can unpack things that they might not have been aware of if I'd asked the question directly. So they get this worksheet with their sailboat and jot down a few notes on the different elements and what it means to them. And then we ask what's the current status of your sailboat, how would you describe your current journey? And for some people they say oh, I've got so much wind in my sails, but I feel like I'm going in circles which, on more conversation, it could be that they have a lot of energy, but they don't know what the direction is that they're going. Or another person could say I've been on this sailboat for years and years, but I just feel like I keep on springing leaks and I'm just bailing water out and not getting anywhere. And if you think about this in a work sense, well, maybe they're continually putting out fires and not feeling like they're getting ahead. Or another person could describe their journey they just feel like they're holding on and weathering the storm. And the conversation could be is it the storm or these weather events that come and go, or is it the water that your boat is in. That perhaps is not the best water for the boat that you've built.
Speaker 1: 7:25
So you can see how having these conversations, with the use of a sailboat as an analogy, can be quite fascinating for a leadership team. If you recall, at the beginning I talked about self-team and organization. We look at this sailboat in three different ways. So first people would look at their own sailboat that they're captain of, and then they look at the sailboats that are next to them, and then the conversation we would have around that is how are the other sailboats in the water with you? So how are these other people in the team? Do you feel like you're heading in the same direction? Are you blocking the wind from each other? Are you crashing into each other? And those analogies could be that they're blocking the wind from each other, as in they might be taking each other's project work or they're crashing into each other.
Speaker 1: 8:10
It might not be clear delineation of who's responsible for what. It could be that they're all sailing really fast, lots of wind in the sail, but they are not heading in the same direction. So it could be a lack of strategy that has been communicated and understood. So that's how you can understand the individual sailboat and then how you can understand how the sailboats fit together. And there can be great visuals done with this as well. Often, when I facilitate it, I will create on the whiteboard pictures of what people are saying and just staying curious, because it's what's happening for them.
Speaker 1: 8:44
So once we've understood the individual's opportunities, challenges and the teams opportunities and challenges we then look at building actions. What's similar, what's different, and what is it as a company or a leadership team do we need to focus on? If the conversation is coming up that people are sailing their boats and not clear on the direction, then the actions that can come from this could be about how to make a clear strategy and how to communicate it. It could be that they talk about that all their boats are heading in the one direction, but the rest of the regatta is so far behind. Well, okay, how did we build the bridge between the leadership team and the rest of the company? It could be, as I spoke about before, that boats are running into each other. Well, what are the actions Could be? How can we get some clarity on who has responsibilities for what? So the third section of this is looking at the organization and the team.
Speaker 1: 9:37
My workshops always finish with actions, so it's wonderful to have a discussion and open up topics and greater understanding of yourself and your team. I'm always really keen on the so what Now that we've learned this. So what? How can we apply it to our business? How can we apply it to ourselves? And we finish the session with our actions, and not just actions that are what you think people would like to hear or what you think is supposed to be said. These actions are specific. They are measurable. If anyone knows what smart goals are, that's probably what's coming next. They are achievable. They're realistic in their timely. We look at what are these actions and who is responsible and by when.
Speaker 1: 10:22
If you've listened to my podcast before, you'll know that I am really big on 1%ers, and the reason for that is if we try and move the needle and do so much change all the time, people get changed, fatigue and they don't keep up. If we look at 1% changes but you continually implement 1% change, it is compounding interest and that is the wonderful thing about growing your leadership skill. So, if you'd like to use something like the sailboat as an analogy, some great questions you can ask are what is your direction? How can you be a team of boats even though you're in a separate part of the business? What are the challenges that are coming up as a business? Is it rough seas? Is it calm seas? Is it weather events that are on the horizon? Is it uncontrollable environments? Another question is are you clear on your compass? What is your direction? And one of my other favorites is whose boat is there to help you? And these are great questions to really understand how we can use this analogy to help a leadership team work well together.
Speaker 1: 11:29
If, on hearing today's episode, you think you could do with some injection of strategy and team cohesiveness and challenging and actions, please reach out to me to discuss different workshop options, whether it's a one-off or a leadership program. A sailboat is one example of a workshop that I run, and what you get when you have a professional come and facilitate a workshop for you is really finding the nuance in your team and working out what workshop is going to be best. Yes, I have a set of workshops, but I will always work with a client and decide what is going to be the best way to help move this client forward in the direction that they want to go. So for this particular workshop. I looked into my bag of tricks of workshops and pulled out the sailboat and then tailored it for their particular team to make sure that they get what they wanted out of the workshop.
Speaker 1: 12:23
The other thing with having an external facilitator is, as a leader, it's really hard to facilitate your team development and growth as well as being in the team, and one of the things your team wants is to see that you're human and part of it, not just sitting to the side and pointing so wherever possible. Being part of development with your team is really, really key and getting an external facilitator is worth their weight in gold. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. If you're looking on more information for the sailboat, have a look in the show notes or you can Google positive psychology and look for the sailboat. Thanks for listening.
