On one of my post-pandemic catchup walks with a friend, she mentioned she craves a canoe trip. I look for excuses to organize events so I made a few phone calls and some messages. The very next weekend, we had a group of 7 people and one dog together to go canoe camping.
1. Have a goal. And help everyone see the next milestone
Our canoes were big (as you can see in the picture) and fit three people each with a paddle and one extra person or dog. How far you go on a canoe depends on the experience of your team and the person sitting last, who would be guiding the canoe. I intentionally wanted to plan a light trip so booked a campsite a short distance away from the starting point.
We tried different arrangements and setups and I noticed a few lessons from the experience. If the leader is good, they can read the map, find a mark on land and tell the team where they are going so everyone has a sense of direction and an eye on the next milestone. We had a blue boathouse and a beautiful home as our landmark milestones. After leading many teams, I’ve learned that “we will be at the campsite in three hours. Just keep paddling!” gives a sense of time but “we want to go to that blue boathouse first” gives a more immediate sense of direction and a better sense of progress as we move forward.
In an organization, timelines are in years instead of hours. Many times, the team may lose sight of the goals, how to get there, or even how to contribute. In the long-term, that’s a costly mistake for the organization.
2. Make micro adjustments along the way
1- The person sitting at the end of the canoe is the person setting the direction of the canoe. In a way they are the leader directing the whole team to where we are supposed to go. The two people sitting in the front have the sole responsibility of paddling forward and trusting that they are getting close to the destination. Here’s where it gets interesting:
Controlling the direction of a canoe is hard. Inexperienced paddlers will easily spend more than half their energy zig-zagging to the destination. The most important person in keeping course is the person sitting at the back of the canoe (aka stern). Their role is to make sure the canoe is pointed to the next milestone so the energy of the paddlers is used efficiently. New canoers will not be able to control the direction of the canoe. When they see the canoe is not pointed correctly, they may paddle to correct course. But they may do it so strongly that they overcorrect and the canoe will point the opposite way very soon.
The paddlers will start asking “how is it that we are paddling so hard but going so slow?”
A competent leader knows the state of the canoe and makes micro-adjustments on every stroke of the paddle so it is always pointed toward the direction. If they are good, nobody will notice the canoe’s micro-adjustments. They will always be going to the destination.
In an organization, overcorrections can be costly. On the other hand, maintaining a culture of trust and communication, along with transparent micro-adjustments will help the team feel confident and motivated. Micro adjustments can happen in one-on-ones, team meetings, weekly customer calls or anywhere by anyone.
3. Let team members try and fail
We had a dog with us. A hunting puppy to be more accurate. From the moment we went on the canoe, he was restless and wanted to jump into the water. We almost had a dedicated person to control the puppy so he doesn’t jump in. He was eager and wanted to swim. Turns out he had flipped the canoe twice on a previous trip. So we were cautious.
On our trip, he ended up jumping into water. It was cold and he didn’t like it. Although he had a vest, he was struggling to stay afloat and was getting tired. We supported him as we got him close to shore and back into the boat again. But this time he was a “good boy” and sat in the canoe as we moved forward.
Sometimes it’s easier to let someone try something they think they’ll like, realize it is not good for them and come back rather than spending a long time (hours, days, or even years) trying to control them and contain them to what we know is better for them. Great leaders (and parents) let their people try things, fail, and get back in. If they find something they love more, we’ve helped someone on our team grow and find a more fulfilling place for themselves. Isn’t that what leaders should do?
4. Let others take the lead
When we establish ourselves as the leader, we can become comfortable in the role, especially if we’re doing a good job and the team is happy. Depending on the goals of the team, that might be the best place to “shake the boat” by changing leaders and have a new person steer the canoe. They won’t be as efficient but you are there to guide them and help them learn and you can take a back seat and enjoy coaching them through the process of learning.
We did that with one of our canoers. Although we did a lot more zigzags than we could have, we got to the destination without any issues. On the bright side, I know I have one more canoe leader friend I can rely on for future trips.
In organizations, leaders get comfortable in their roles or know nobody can do the job as well as themselves. That’s exactly the time to train someone new to take on your role so you can take on something bigger and better (or just relax a bit). Succession planning is something that doesn’t come natural to many leaders but something that will cause huge gaps when/if the leader leaves for any reason.
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