Leadership in Tough Times

I am also fond of telling people that outstanding leaders must have just the right amount of "lead" to be able to hold their position and push for improvement.  Too much lead and they will be anchored, stuck doing the same things over and over, never improving.

Too little lead and they will float from one idea to the next, being blown along by the winds of change, never sticking with one idea long enough to make a meaningful improvement.

I believe there are two types of leaders in organizations.  If you view the organization as a boat then the two types of leaders are sails and anchors. I must admit that when I originally conceived this generalization of the entire world of humanity into two neat groups that nicely fit into my black and white view of the world,  I was "casting" the anchor as the "heavy," the leader that kept the ship from making progress and in the extreme could even drag the ship to the bottom with it if the changing tide got too high.

However, as I pondered this I came to realize that although that perception could be true, it is not the real purpose of an anchor.  The purpose of an anchor is to keep the ship safely in the harbor until it is ready to go on the journey. 

It is the anchor that keeps the ship safely in the harbor rather than allowing the tide of public opinion to carry it out into the sea of unrest where it might be lost forever.  In this role, there are times when an organization needs an anchor leader. 

The other type of leader is the sail.  Sails are amazing things. They capture the natural energy that is all around them and convert that energy into progress.  The energy has always been there available for use but without a sail there is no progress. 

Sails capture the winds of change and use them to move their organization into the future while others stand on the shore and marvel because to them nothing has changed, except now there is a sail and something about that sail is moving the organization like it has never been moved before.

So it has become clear to me that the world has need for both types of leaders and the factors that contribute to being a great leader goes beyond the individual.  A great leader is the right person, with the right ideas, at the right time for what the organization is facing.  Therefore, it is up to the individual to be ready to be able to have the right ideas when the right time arrives.

In these economic times do you need an anchor or a sail?  It depends on the mission.

If your organization's mission is to protect where you are and what you have then you want to stay safely anchored in the harbor and wait for the storms to pass.


However, if your organization wants to move forward in the belief that there are great rewards for delivering your cargo (goods or services) when others are not, then you need a sail.  Be warned though if you follow this path that there is always a chance that the storm will get so bad that the crew will remove the sail in a final attempt to save the ship. 

At that point, neither a sail or an anchor will help until the storm is over.  All that can be done is to rely on the rudder (financial person) to keep them pointed into the wind so that they don't capsize.