Summery:
A leadership expert shares five life and leadership lessons she learned during her fourth
trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Consider and apply these lessons to
your own leadership role.
Keywords: management,leaders,managers,leadership,business
manager,good leader,great leaders,business management
One hour north of Ely, MN, off a gravel road called Echo
Trail, Little Indian Sioux River meanders through lily-pad waters and past beaver houses
to meet Loon Lake. It's but a tiny part of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a
vast chain of lakes and rivers that divide Canada and the United States.
It was our fourth season to canoe for a week, testing our
ability to paddle against wind gusts of 35-mph, fight mosquitoes and stinging flies, drag
our boat over beaver dams, portage up and down slippery trails and sleep most nights under
the stars.
A prior trip resulted in a leadership article. Seems
nature can offer insights on many aspects of life that pertain to leadership. This trip
was no exception:
- Necessity IS the mother of creativity. A small piece of
yellow rubber tubing from an exercise band replaced the lost showerhead on our solar
shower water bag. I teased our friend, Tom, when he threw the band into his Duluth pack.
Boy, was I wrong. What can you look at - with different eyes - that might solve a problem?
- If the wind is at your back, make the most of it. On the few
occasions the fierce wind shifted, I discovered that a raised paddle blade, turned to
catch wind, acted as a mini sail, driving us more quickly across the open water. Yes, it
was also necessity! If you have momentum, how can you make more of it?
- Expended energy demands refueling to keep going. Ziploc bags
of nuts, fruit and M&Ms became essential when we'd slow down. Even the birds in these
waters are constantly looking to refuel. During breeding season, a pair of loons can
consume 2,000 pounds of fish. That might also explain why I never caught any! Do you stop
and refuel when your body needs it?
- Everything works better when the team is in synch. Our
friends in the other canoe often seemed to move more quickly then we did. Then I realized:
their paddle strokes were in synch. Plus, Tom sat in the bow and his stronger paddling
made up for the times when Pam stopped paddling to steer the boat. That's not only
synchronization of action but also a synchronization of talent. Are you in synch with your
team and playing to your strengths?
- You can only leave "home" if a champion stays
behind. This trip would not have happened without my sister Susan, a champion of great
ability and strength. She moved into our house to oversee the care of my elderly mother,
thus allowing us to journey into the wilderness. Who tends your home or workplace so you
can venture forth into new territory?
© 2011, McDargh Communications. |
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| Keynote speaker and leadership expert
Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE, is an award-winning business author, retreat facilitator and a
consultant to national and international organizations. To hire Eileen for leadership
development programs that develop powerful self leadership skills and leadership of others
visit http://www.eileenmcdargh.com/leadership-development/
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