I have just returned from a weekend away climbing Snowdon with my son and his Scout Group and have been reflecting on some of the stories of personal triumph and leadership.
The group I was assigned to were young Scouts keen to reach the summit first. Whilst this played to my competitive spirit, it was rather in conflict with getting the whole Scout Group to the top. I had to remind them of the children's Ice Age film - that we are a herd and we stick together.
My son (aged 8) hit the 'wall' halfway up resulting in some tears. But he was encouraged to think about breaking the challenge down into smaller chunks to overcome the seemingly impossible task of reaching the summit that he could see the whole route.
Another Scout commented within the first mile that he "doesn't do hills" and proceeded to offer more elaborate excuses as the journey progressed. The Scout Leader had to respond with ever more imaginative responses, but felt a great deal of personal satisfaction in getting him to the top.
One Dad got an 8 year old girl to the top by distracting her with conversations about her favourite things. Whilst another Dad told how, with the summit in full view, he got a Cub to lift his finger and 'touch the summit'. This proved highly energising to the young boy, who was frequently seen reaching out.
So what can we learn from this experience?
Robert Greenleaf wrote 'Servant Leadership' in 1977, in which he said that "service ought to be the distinguishing characteristic of leadership". What we as a group of parents and Leaders did was to forego our own goals and come together to work unselfishly to help the children achieve, what for many was, a tremendous challenge.
I wonder, if we all did more of this in our business life might we achieve more?
I'd love to hear about your experiences of Servant Leadership.
No comments:
Post a Comment