Navigate through rough waters

On a recent family vacation, we decided to go kayaking. Individual kayaks were on short supply, so my father and I agreed to go tandem. He is extremely experienced, so we were both happy to have him in the driver’s seat.

The river started off gently and we enjoyed talking as we meandered. It wasn’t, however, until we hit the rougher patches that our need to communicate about what we were doing became readily apparent.

Healthy relationships between leaders and employees, like our kayaking trip, are often filled with smooth, easy stretches characterized by laughter and light conversation. But there are also times when clear communication and synchronous teamwork are critical.

I left the river far more attuned to the importance of communication skills with tasks involving more than one person. Here’s what I learned:
 

1. There’s little need to communicate when working by yourself. When you’re working alone, you get to make split decisions, you only look after yourself and you don’t need to explain yourself or convey your plan. You simply execute it. Wonderful if you’re kayaking by yourself or you’re a solo entrepreneur. Not so helpful when you’re leading a team.
 

2. When you’re leading a group of any size, clear communication is paramount to satisfaction and success. It took my father and I a while to iron out our communication glitches. It was impossible for him to read my mind, so he had to let me know that I needed to speak up and be specific. For example, my saying, “Rock right,” was far more helpful than being silent or saying, “There’s a rock ahead.” Once we got our signals clear, the trip became both easier and more enjoyable.
 

3. Trust is far easier when communication is ongoing. While I trusted my father knew what he was doing, there were times I was convinced we were going to crash. At one point, I stopped paddling toward what I considered to be impending doom. In doing so, I caused us to smash into the tree I desperately wanted to avoid. After that mishap and realizing I wasn’t as experienced as he is, my father committed to helping me feel safer by simply saying, “I’ve got it. Keep paddling.”
 

4. Leaders need to empower employees to find their voice and step up to the plate. In the beginning, I expected my father to choose the way without any input from me. While I was trying to be respectful, I failed to take into account that I could see the river better form my position in the kayak. Once he let me know it would be helpful for me to speak up, I felt comfortable communicating the best path. It was a lot more fun and far smoother with my input.
 

5. Followers need to listen and trust their leaders as they often have information and can see the bigger picture. As we neared the end of our trip, my father let the others know they needed to stop at each bridge so they wouldn’t shoot past the poorly marked turnoff. If they missed it, they would either have to paddle upstream or go miles farther down the river. While they stopped at the first bridge, they shot past the second one and had to paddle upstream. Had they listened, they would have expended far less energy backtracking.

As you lead, look for communication breakdowns, have honest conversations, set clear expectations and empower your employees. Doing so will vastly improve the probability that glitches will lead to increased satisfaction and success.

Sherene, a relational leadership expert, works with organizations that want to equip their leaders to step up, bring out the best in others and enjoy exceptional success. sherenemchenry.com.