Courage doesn’t take a fearless person with a death wish or an abundance of confidence in their own abilities. Courage is the action taken when a great cause enlists your participation. You know when that still small voice within says, “Come and participate”. Leaders need to have a healthy fear. The kind of fear that elicits a healthy respect and swells up in humility yet walks in the assurance they are heading in the right direction no matter how hard the winds blow. A leader doesn’t take this walk alone or they are no leader at all. When sailing (leading), leaders must harness the energy (of the people) that propels a team forward. While sailing you can get stuck without a wind (momentum/sabotage) in your sails, or you can even capsize. To sail you must use the winds (circumstances) in your favor and propel the boat towards its destination. But how do you go forward toward your destination when the wind (opposition) is blowing against your sails?
Wind blowing against the boat at an angle inflates the sail, and it forms a similar foil shape creating a difference in pressure that pushes the sail perpendicular to the wind direction. This force from the sail’s foil shape is combined with and balanced by other forces (team and tools), including those of the boat’s keel (mission). Together the forces of drag, from the water, and the pressure from the wind against the sail itself push the craft forward. It moves at an angle opposite the direction of the wind, called windward (moving in the right direction) in sailing terminology.
Leadership requires similar actions and reactions. When the winds are behind you it can be easier to lead but the danger is complacency. When the winds are in your face it is more difficult to lead (not sure what to do). A good leader will recognize the signs of the “winds of change” and then harness the energy of their team to make the corrections or adaptations to use the “winds of change” as leverage to continue sailing (driving change) towards its destination (vision). It has been said, “People without a vision will capsize” (perish). Good leaders will harness the energy and adapt to the circumstances. Set sail and harness the energy of your team and see how far you can go.
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