A weeklong
motorcycle trip through Europe recently gave me the opportunity to reflect on
the correlation between riding a motorcycle in a group and leading a team,
corporation or community. The behaviors
struck me as being very obvious and upon thought also challenging for leaders
to execute, as they are often not faced with the immediacy of action required
when riding a motorcycle. That brought
the realization that having a sense of urgency will often expedite the need for
action and encourage leaders to act when normally they might not. Being on a motorcycle brings with it the need
for action and awareness that failure to act can have severe consequences.
The
lessons I articulated for leaders while riding are:
·
Check
to see your Team is with you
·
Have
a clear goal and communicate it
·
Involve
others in decisions and actions
·
Take
actions that will enrich the Team
·
Discover
and utilize Team's strengths
·
Be
aware of the environment
·
Speed
of flexible and resilient
Check
to See Your Team is with You
When
riding in the lead of a group, it is your responsibility to make sure your
fellow riders are with you and not falling behind. When riders fall behind, the Team will be
slowed down and the risk is present of an individual rider being lost. The leader needs to consistently check to see
if his Team is following and in line.
This also applies when making decisions about direction - the leader
needs to ensure that the Team can follow and not get caught in traffic or be
put at risk through quick maneuvers. The
correlation to the business world is clear, a leader needs to keep his Team
engaged and with him/her heading in the same direction. The leader needs to consistently check on his
Team to ensure they are still in line and moving in the same direction. When one member of the Team falls behind it
will undermine the effectiveness of the Team.
Have a
Clear Goal and Communicate It
Every
morning the riders would establish a destination point for the end of the coming
day. The lead rider would provide
information regarding the route options, time involved and potential riding
conditions. With this information a
clear destination was established and all riders were aware of it. There would be discussion regarding the
destination during the day and the lead rider would let the group know how much
further to the destination. A leader has
to establish clear goals and objectives for his team and make sure they
understand the desired outcome of their actions. On our motorcycle trip we all knew where we
had to be at the end of the day and regardless what we encountered, the
goal/destination did not change. On some
occasions we arrived well passed the desired time and we arrived. Having a clear goal established, allows the
Team to move forward and consistently re-stating the goal creates energy and
excitement for the goal. When stopping
for gas, we would talk about what the destination held for us; when the leader
communicates the proximity of the goal it created excitement and energy within
the team to reaching the goal.
Involve
Others in Decisions and Actions
As we sat
at breakfast discussing what the day would hold, all voices were heard and had
input into the final decision which created a commitment to the agreed upon
goal. All riders on the Team were asked
their preferences and their thoughts as the decisions were unfolding. If there were questions, time was taken to
answer them and discuss them; again a level of commitment was created. The needs and desires of each team member
were considered and we all felt heard. As
we all had input into the activities, there was an excitement for the day and
anticipation for the day’s experiences. When a leader pro-actively involves others in
decisions not only is commitment to the decision created, the leader is able to
hear all ideas and will have more information from which to act in the present
and future. It is known that when individuals participate in decisions, the
commitment to the decision strengthens and subsequent actions are more
congruent to supporting the decision. The
involvement of others in developing the goal creates a team atmosphere and
allows individual strengths to shine. Furthermore, when all team members are heard
and can give voice to their needs, the Team has the opportunity to utilize its
strengths and appreciate the success of their actions.
Take
Actions that Will Enrich the Team
As we
rode, there was a trust in the Leader to guide as along the decided upon route
while also giving the leader room to make decisions in the moment - the
challenge for the lead rider was to ensure those decisions benefited the
Team. At one point, the lead rider
stopped and what looked like an interesting historical site indicating we might
enjoy it and have lunch also - it was a great decision as it benefitted the
Team. The Team was enriched by his
decision and was re-charged to move toward the destination. The lead rider knew it would benefit the team
based on the breakfast conversations. As
leaders we must decide will our actions strengthen our team, organization or
community and add to the well being of the individuals involved. Leaders have the unique luxury of looking
beyond the day to day and scanning the horizon to see what is needed to keep
the Team going toward its goal. As she
is scanning the horizon, it is an opportunity to take action that will support
the organization and the individuals within.
Leading by example, others on the team will take actions for the good of
the team. When it was particularly warm
on one day on several occasions, Team members bought water for the Team
allowing all to refresh and have renewed energy to press on. The unintended consequence of the action was
that it created harmony among the Team and contributed to the well being of the
Team and the formation of the Team. When
team members take actions for the betterment of the Team, they support the
formation of the Team and strengthen the Team's ability to reach its targets,
as others will be encouraged to do the same.
Discover
and Utilize Team Strength's
The
utilization of strengths has become a common refrain in business and many
opportunities remain to make it the consistent norm in business. When riding, it is critical to understand
one's strengths as failure to do so can have terminal effects. The rider who is not comfortable beyond
certain speeds, or in sharp turns or riding at night or in the city needs to
understand this and be able to voice it.
The other Team members need to hear it and acknowledge it looking for
ways to utilize the strengths of the team to make any weakness irrelevant.
“The task of leadership is to create an alignment of
strengths – for a purpose or toward a goal – in such a way that weaknesses
become irrelevant.” – Peter Drucker
The
leader who understands their own strengths and learns his Teams strengths and
then builds on those strengths will consistently reach organizational objectives. On our trip we had individuals whose
strengths were planning and identifying great accommodations - we utilized
those strengths and we all benefited plus it allowed the rest of us to focus on
our strengths for the benefit and of the Team.
A leader in any organization setting would benefit from have their team
clearly articulate their respective strengths and then utilize them to build
the Team and organization. On our trip,
I realized my strength was not mountain riding for sharp right hand turns where
opportunities to practice, subsequently I rode last so as not to slow others. The strongest mountain rider went first and
would wait on the team at intervals to ensure all were coming along.
Be
aware of the environment
When
riding, the joy is to be part of the environment and the risk is to be part of
the environment for the environment has a tremendous impact on the riding. The team and lead rider were aware of the
environment at all times from temperature, traffic and road conditions. When the traffic slowed the leader adjusted
the pace and looked for openings and when the temperature climbed the stops to
hydrate increased. When establishing a
strategy and action plan, the Leader must be cognizant of the environment the
organization finds itself in. The Leader
must be able to adjust quickly to changing conditions while remaining focused
on the desired end point. When on the
autobahn cruising at high speeds and traffic suddenly grinds to a crawl, a new
plan of action is needed - the leader needs to quickly scan the situation and
call on the appropriate team or organizational strengths to keep moving. Slowed traffic required lane-splitting skills
and the strongest lane-splitting rider took the point. Leaders require the same behavior - an
awareness of the ever-changing environment.
This awareness is not always as obvious as when on a bike and is equally
important to the success of an organization, project or team. The ability to adjust to a changing
environment facilitates the leader keeping the organization focused on the
critical success actions. This ability
to adjust and focus the organizations creates trust in the leader to navigate
the organization towards its objectives.
Speed
of flexibility and resiliency
While
often mentioned as critical leadership behavior - flexibility and resiliency
have taken on new meaning for me while their importance has only been
amplified. When riding, being flexible
to ever changing conditions is essential as well as being aware when and where
to be flexible. The understanding of
when to be flexible is essential for at times it might be beneficial to stay
the course even though another option looks more appealing. At the same flexibility requires a clear
understanding of the result of the subsequent actions. On the road, taking one path might lead to a
nice ride while another path will lead to a spectacular ride. Recently we took a road that led us to a
tunnel through the mountain before entering the tunnel we had the opportunity
to take a U-turn and take the road over the mountain - it would take twice as
long and be an inspiring ride. The
mountain pass was ridden and in the moment flexibility was demonstrated and
information was processed and a decision made.
The ability to be flexible and process information quickly to make a
decision is essential in today's business climate while also then being able to
move in the new direction. Riding
teaches one to take action quickly and leaders need this skill for speed of
flexibility will be a differentiating factor in business. Leaders who have the ability to exhibit
flexibility and react to the changing environment while maintaining the
organizations focus are able to navigate the current business climate
successfully.
Resiliency
is the ability to bounce back from challenges and adversity with renewed energy
and commitment to the goal. It is having
the mindset to focus on the next steps to take as an opposed to being focused
on the past or the adversity. When
riding the best example is when a rider puts a bike down - how quickly are they
up and riding again (health permitting).
On my last trip, a rider put their bike down and was back up and riding
in thirty minutes focused on getting to the destination. Leaders who consistently exhibit resiliency
are able to keep their Team focused on the goals while taking challenges in stride. Organizations will take direction from their
leader regarding resiliency and make it a norm, which infuses the organization
with stamina, and energy that lets them meet challenges without being derailed
by them.
There are
no doubt more lessons one can apply from riding to leadership and I find these
seven to be particularly relevant for today's leaders and the opportunities
they encounter. These seven traits are
intertwined and support each other in their execution. Leaders who practice these behaviors will
find their Teams more productive and the results they achieve to be consistent
and above expectations. Leaders can
practice these behaviors on daily basis with a conscious awareness of them and
looking for opportunities to practice them individually and with their
team.
In the future,
I will share additional thoughts on leadership, teams or other trips with
readers on this blog – thank you for visiting and I
welcome your comments.
