What Obstacles Do You Face?

Facing Our Own Ocean
"That is where the explorer Vasco de Gama learned to sail.”  My friend told me that as we looked down on a small sandy bay filled with colorful fishing boats in Sines, Portugal. Later that day, we traveled north to Lisbon where the Sea Discoveries Monument honors the voyagers who, 500 years earlier, departed Lisbon harbor and set-out in search of places no European had ever been before.

No other professional has faced more risk and uncertainty then an explorer.  Considering what these travelers faced can give us insight for our own challenges. So, what were the obstacles faced by Columbus, de Gama and the other explorers?

We all sometimes feel like a small ship on a big ocean.  Columbus’s favorite ship Nina was only 65 feet long. That’s only a few feet more than the distance from home plate to a pitcher’s mound.  Columbus also faced some significant obstacles:

• Not enough money. If not for the King and Queen of Spain, Columbus’s journey would never have happened.
• Lack of provisions.  An explorer's first expenses went toward obtaining ships and crew.  Whatever was left was used to purchase food and drink.
• No maps.  That’s right…nobody had ever been there before.
• Productivity lost to sickness.  Cramped quarters were stressful and promoted a breeding ground for disease.
• A frightened crew asking questions like, "So Captain, since you’ve never been there, how will you know you’re at the right place when you see it?”
• Crew revolt.  Months of not seeing the fruits of success made for tense times to say the least. Mutinies or near insurrections were not uncommon.

Each of the obstacles that were faced by these voyagers parallels the challenges we encounter in our personal life planning, starting new ventures or growing an existing organization.

“By prevailing over all obstacles and distractions, one may unfailingly arrive at his chosen goal or destination.”  Christopher Columbus

Who Do You Value?

Good Leaders Value People
Barry-Wehmiller Companies, Inc. is a global supplier of manufacturing technology.  At the beginning of “the great recession” in 2008 they saw their orders fall by almost one-third.  They contemplated layoffs but instead decided to institute a furlough program so that no one lost their job but everyone “participated in the suffering.”  They acted like a family, not an institution.  A look at one sentence in their statement of values sums it up when it says, "We measure success by the way we touch the lives of people."

Fair and sometimes heroic actions, during a crisis, result from a strong belief system.  That is the essence of great leadership.  Danger may be all around, however, people are safe.  In the words of Robert Townsend, who transformed Avis into a rental car giant, “True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not the enrichment of the leaders.  A leader is … someone who carries water for his people so that they can get on with their jobs.”

“Leadership is not about your ambition. It is about bringing out the ambitions of your team.” Cheryl Bachelder

Values Based Leadership

Lead from a Principled Heart
The best leadership comes from a principled heart.  Principles are our moral beliefs about right and wrong.  A good leader must base his actions on something bigger than himself.  To do that he or she must take time to determine their values. 

Values are simply the things you value ...  those things and attributes that “must be.”  Here are some examples:

·       Dependability 

·       Reliability 

·       Loyalty 

·       Commitment 

·       Open-mindedness 

·       Consistency 

·       Honesty 

·       Efficiency 

·       Innovation 

·       Creativity 

·       Good humor 

·       Compassion 

·       Spirit of adventure 

·       Motivation 

·       Positivity 

·       Optimism 

·       Passion 

·       Respect 

·       Fitness 

·       Courage 

·       Education 

·       Perseverance 

·       Patriotism 

·       Service to others 

·       Environmentalism 

They are a heart attitude that is the most fundamental definition of who we are.  If you have not already done so make a list of your values, put it in a prominent place and refer to it often.

Max Depree, former CEO of Herman Miller says, “Leadership is much more an art, a belief, a condition of the heart, than a set of things to do. The visible signs of artful leadership are expressed, ultimately, in its practice.”