| After three long days of a very intensive | | | | being a bully. To build your influence, you've got to |
| workshop in Toronto, a group of us decided to go | | | | walk the talk in front of your group, team, or |
| canoeing for a day, up in Barre, Ontario (an hour | | | | clients. You've got to tackle the first problem, |
| north of Toronto) on the Nottawasaga River. It | | | | seize the moment and make quick decisions. In |
| was a warm day, the water was warm, and no | | | | our case, it was a leader choosing the portages. |
| one else was on this pristine flat-water river | | | | Leadership also means learning to develop humor |
| winding through a protected swamp. | | | | - but without folly. It's OK to be witty but not |
| We had idyllic moments out of time, we had | | | | silly, to have fun and be funny without being |
| mishaps and laughs, and we had the slogs of | | | | foolish. A leader's response to the first person |
| carrying canoes and gear (called a portage) | | | | getting dunked in the river was to put a positive |
| around logjams in the river more than a few | | | | spin on the slight mishap -- just like we all do for a |
| times, as well as the insufferable companionship of | | | | baby learning to walk or a child learning to ride a |
| mosquitoes. | | | | bicycle. This leadership skill was brought out in |
| Why am I sharing this with you? I want to share | | | | many of our leaders later on the trip when we |
| some of the pings of the day, and the pings were | | | | kept sinking into the mud, or shoes got stuck in |
| all about leadership and the dynamics of leadership. | | | | the mud. One leader unabashedly sang old songs |
| It was reassuring and inspiring to see leadership | | | | on the portages as a distraction from mosquitoes |
| arise from a number of different people in the | | | | feasting on us. |
| group adding strength and depth all around. | | | | Leaders are good at dealing with reality. They |
| Great leaders are always working on themselves. | | | | accept life as it is. This is not fatalism or the |
| In this case, the leaders never stopped paddling. | | | | opposite of optimism. It's practicality. It's a |
| They led by example. In spite of the mosquitoes, | | | | constructive approach to the truth. On the river, |
| they stayed focused on the objective of the day, | | | | when the mosquitoes and logjams got to us all |
| 19 km through utter wilderness. | | | | late in the day, there was a dramatic switch in |
| Exemplary leaders don't push or manage a lot. | | | | group dynamics. Leaders recognized what had to |
| They problem solve, then inspire and motivate | | | | be done, picked up the pace and just did it |
| the team. You can be a strong leader without | | | | without discussion, negotiation or complaining. |
| being impolite. When a canoe capsized, a leader | | | | In the end, I think we had more fun and the |
| didn't wait for the organizer to suggest it, a leader | | | | adventure was more memorable because of the |
| just handed people life jackets and said "Put it on", | | | | challenges that brought out the strengths in each |
| because it was the right thing to do. Another | | | | of us. As leaders, we want to inspire the people |
| leader figured out how to recover, right and | | | | around us to bring out their strengths too. So |
| empty the canoe. | | | | what adventure will you organize to inspire the |
| Leadership means learning to be bold without | | | | people around you? |