Note: Each Thursday I will post a little something to inspire us to finish the week strong. These Thursday Thoughts will be a quote, piece of music, artwork, or inspirational video. Congratulations, you made it over the hump and let’s finish the week together.
It has been awhile. Time for some more rowing. My competitive rowing days helped define me and I am a better leader due to my rowing … the focus, teamwork, joy, and even pain.
And of course, the occasional swing, when it all came together.
Here is a video produced by the University of Washington men’s crew who won the national title in 2012. They have a long and successful history and are the chief rivals of my school, UC Berkeley. Competition aside, it is all about the crew and rowing as fast as possible. I have to give it up to them, Husky Crew is an example of WeMoveTogether.
Yesterday was my annual trip down the river – white water rafting to be specific. I say annual since I went twice last summer and now again this summer. That is a trend my friend and one I hope to continue when possible in the future.
It helps to have a friend who is a former river guide and owns his own boat. Today he is a top-notch organizational development consultant. Check him out as time allows at VisionPoint Consulting.
Okay back to the water. Let’s get the obvious metaphor out-of-the-way. A trip down the river (South Fork of the American River in California) with periods of serious rapids can act as a metaphorical journey for us as leaders. We had periods of calm water followed by periods of white water to challenge our team. We prepared as best we could and adapted along the way. Teamwork was vital to our success. Leadership metaphor on the river … check.
It was a great day with just four of us handling the boat that can carry nine. There was my friend Steve, our leader for the day. My coworker Jeremy ready to try new adventures and Greg, someone new to meet and get to know while working the rapids. A great day and yea, I thought about leadership and what I was experiencing while we worked our way down the river.
Once I got the obvious metaphors listed above out-of-the-way, something else occurred to me. It started with Steve admonishing me for calling my paddle an oar. We are on a raft and that is a paddle I am holding.
My DNA is fixed and for me it is an oar. I rowed and raced competitively for seven years in high school and college. I am formed from my days as a crew member and rower. It felt great to hold a tool to work through the water and propel my boat forward. For me I held an oar, but Steve was right. It was a paddle and I was in a very different type of boat.
So I go deeper into metaphor to look at oars and paddles and what they teach us as leaders.
The oar represents my crew days. We raced and absolute precision and teamwork was the rule. We strived for “swing” where the boat becomes one and we move the boat with an effortless feeling. Our oars connected us to the water and served to balance our strokes. One would think we had a death grip on those oars, but no. We held them with a light touch and felt the energy from the crew moving the boat forward ever faster. With the oar in hand, we hurt. We were athletes pushing to the limit.
Alas, yesterday I did not hold an oar. It was a paddle and we were in a white water raft. Indeed we had to work together, but it was very different. There was no precision. We were committed though, not to be fast, but to find the right line and fight through the rapids. Each of us got knocked down and knew it was vital to get back up and paddle as our lives depended on it. With the paddle there is a general plan to get down the river. We adjusted along the way and had a great run. With the paddle in hand, we smiled and could not wait for the next rapid.
Both the oar and the paddle have one thing in common. A commitment to the boat and her crew. Today’s post was full of metaphor of how a trip down the treacherous white water can remind us what is important for team work and leadership. It also served to remind me of my days holding an oar.
The oar and the paddle – tools for WeMoveTogether.
Last year’s trip. That is crazy me in the front of the boat wearing a hat. Paddle in hand. Notice the smiles.
“Okay, bring the boats together. Let’s switch five and six.”
The seat racing continues. We are all tired, wet and sore. Some guys feel sick and yep, someone just threw-up over the side of the boat.
Welcome to college rowing where you spend the entire school year in preparation for a few sprint races in late Spring. It is said for college athletes, the ratio of practice hours to actual competition time is highest for rowing. It is not just a sport, rowing becomes a way of life. To this day one of my life joys was rowing; the endless practice time on the water and the competition itself.
I started this post with a memory of seat racing. What is seat racing? It is a process to fine-tune the boat of eight oarsmen. After all the hours of practice it is time to choose who makes the top boat. Rowing is as old-school as it gets. There are varsity, junior-varsity, and Freshman crews. You do not see that in other college sports. Rowers love the history of the sport and the continuation of the traditions. One such tradition is the seat race process.
With seat racing you race two boats against each other and then switch out individual crew members. Again you race. Then switch one or more rowers. Yet another race. It is not a crew vs. another crew. It is individuals rowing against each other.
Why do we have seat racing? The coach should know his best crew by then – you have rowed together for months in different combinations. It is not that simple. There is something amazing about a great crew. It is a team – eight people moving together as one. Yet it is hard to gauge how well a boat will perform until it is on the water racing for victory. There is the simple math of adding together individual physical ability, but something more too.
The best crews have a spirit that can not be defined, only witnessed.
What is the best mix of eight men or women to define that spirit and make the boat move fast? That is what seat racing does. We switch out the parts until the best, most spirited, and fast boat is discovered.
From my experience, magic happens during seat races. Individuals that you do not expect to perform help the boat move fast. Others who we expected to move the boat fast, do not add a spark.
This is not just a story from my past. I see the connection from on the water seat racing to our business lives. Too many organizations do not allow for the best teams. This person has the experience and as such is on the team. Yet is this the “fastest” team? Does this team perform at a level better than other combinations of people? In many cases the answer is no. I have been there and so have you.
Ideally we need seat racing in our business lives to differentiate people and to find that spark that leads to the so-called “fastest boat”. A great team can move mountains and so often we fall short of creating the best team. It is not just the overall membership on a team. Seat racing allows a crew to work out the best boat structure (who sits where) and even leadership. In business we find that the same folks fill the same positions on teams. Are we open to a shake-up occasionally and try folks in different roles? To continue with my rowing metaphor – we may be able to get more speed and performance by rearranging the team members and their roles. We do not know unless we try.
Just some thoughts on teamwork today – from the water and into the office.
Here is a little taste of boat racing along with some honest commentary.
Note: Each Thursday I will post a little something to inspire us to finish the week strong. These posts will be either a quote, a piece of art, or short video. Congratulations, you made it over the hump and let’s finish the week together.
I am finishing up the Book Titled, “Rowing the Atlantic: Lessons Learned on the Open Ocean” by Roz Savage. As a rower myself I was drawn to this book, but it is a story for all of us. Her personal story is amazing moving from a successful corporate job to joining a rowing race across the Atlantic in 2005. She raced solo – inspirational stuff. Roz has been rowing across oceans ever since and is an active environmentalist. I can not recommend her book and story enough. Check it out for yourself (links above).
In a recent commencement speech she delivered three main messages:
“Be mindful of the stories you tell yourself about who you are – they will define what you achieve”.
“Determination, Dedication and Discipline can get you a heck of a long way, and you won’t get far without them”.
“There are two kids of fear – one kind that will help keep you alive, but also a second kind that stops you doing the things you want to do – so let go of the fear of failure if you want to live fully”.
Here is a video of Roz’s story. And as Roz says, “Let’s stop drifting and start rowing.”
Note: Each Thursday I will post a little something to inspire us to finish the week strong. These posts will be either a quote, a piece of art, or short video. Congratulations, you made it over the hump and let’s finish the week together.
Once a rower, always a rower. It has been years since I have rowed on the water, but I can still taste it. I can still smell it. I can still feel the oar in my hands, working with seven other men to propel the boat faster and faster. Rowing (or Crew) is amazing and can serve as inspiration for all of us with its ultimate teamwork and grounding for leadership. It hurt so much; yet once a rower I can accomplish anything. I invite you to get in the boat yourself and experience the magic. Enjoy this video.
I expect I will return to the boat off and on in this blog. As I mention in my Bio, I was once a rower. I rowed crew in high school and college. Actually once a rower is not true. Rowing becomes a way of life and one never stops being a rower once fully involved although I have not been on the water for years.
Rowing is used often as an example of perfect teamwork. Even those who have not rowed can work out that each rower from their body movements to the unison of the oars through the water, needs to be in synch. As such perfect teamwork.
Along with this teamwork there is leadership. Because of the focus on teamwork though we often do not think of leadership in a sport such as rowing. For other team sports we do often talk about leadership and publicly identify the leaders on specific teams. These leaders do what they need to do to influence their teammates toward reaching their best performance.
From my experience each successful boat I rowed in had its leader. Often it was me and many times it was others. I have been in boats that should have been fast and competitive. The technical ability and experience of the rowers said as much. Yet, these boats did not perform as we expected. As I look back, the lack of a leader was the issue. This is where I became aware of the need for myself to grow and behave as a leader.
The leader for my sport was never the coach. He was responsible for the technical training and boat selection. Of course he would work to motivate his rowers and set us up to understand and reach our goals. As such, a leader, but my point is that you need to get into the boat to really lead. In an eight man shell the leader could be anyone 1 through 8. For those in the know we can think of the #8 seat or stroke seat as the leader. In practice this person is often the leader due to the fact that we all need to follow his lead with our rowing. Yet it often held that the boat leader sat in the middle of the boat. He had the positive traits of a leader from communication skills to trustworthiness.
All rowing coaches work to get their teams to visualize success. We walk though in our mind the perfect stroke and unison with our teammates who are also focused on the perfect stroke. The boat leader though is the one that can make it happen. He is right there stroke for stroke with his teammates. He can stop the boat to speak to the team and make adjustments to get the feel just right. Trust me for all the power involved there is a feel that is so important to propel a crew shell at top speed.
All rowers seek the perfect stroke where it all comes together. The concept is called swing. Swing at its essence is when all the moving parts in the boat become one. The feeling is nearly effortless and the boat rising up in the water. Eight rowers become one. It is rare and fleeting. The best crews, while racing fast and winning races, still do not achieve it often. In seven years of competitive racing, I experiences swing only a handful of times. I am convinced that great coaching and technical ability set the groundwork to allow for swing. Yet the leadership within the boat made it happen. We each knew our roles and who in the boat needed to speak to keep us on the path.
Rowing, a great example of teamwork, leadership and the motto of “we move together”.
If interested here is a link to a rowing blog that describes swing very well.
