Leader Overboard!

“My goal was to stay afloat until sunrise”.

- John Aldridge

There are times in our career when we accept a challenge and soon realize we are in over our head.  Our pride tells us we can figure out what needs to be done – just give me a little more time.  Asking for help could be perceived as a weakness and we scramble looking for a way out.  The challenge becomes overwhelming and it can feel as if you have been thrown overboard.

Take the story of John Aldridge. In the wee hours of July 24, 2014, Aldridge was keeping watch on deck of the lobster boat Anna Mary, when a handle he was holding snapped and he flew overboard. He called for help, but his partner was asleep and didn't notice his absence until hours later.

Fishermen can be superstitious about what to do with their boots in an overboard crisis. Instead of kicking the boots off, as many others had told him, Aldridge realized his rubber-soled boots were different. He turned them upside down and used them as flotation devices. His defying of traditional wisdom is what may have saved his life. The Coast Guard and 21 fellow fishermen organized a search party, including a helicopter pilot who had been involved in search and rescue missions for eight years and had never pulled anyone alive from the water.  The pilot was flying over the ocean with very little fuel remaining, what they call “bingo fuel,” the fuel needed to get home, and as he was straining his eyes over the water he spotted Aldridge waving frantically.  Following a brief absence, he is once again back at work on the Anna Mary.

Lost at sea and the overwhelmed workplace – is there a connection?  Here are three keys to overcoming a professional challenge when you are in over your head:

Rescue
Accept the need to be rescued.  Pride is a blind spot that prevents us from reaching out to those who can help us.  We have all established leadership capital based on our success – spend a little capital by asking for help.  A successful rescue is a career builder – not derailer.

Reframe
Once you accept the need for support, reframe your role.  Is this a situation where another leader could step forward to lead the recovery?  Should you share responsibility?  Remember, your initial role did not work.  Your greatest contribution may be as a follower or removing yourself from the project – releasing control for the common good.

Reflect
What have you learned about your leadership style through this crisis?  Do you need to ask more questions before accepting this type of assignment, including what resources will be available?  History teaches us that a crisis requires the best minds coming together – not individuals trying to do it all.
 
John Aldridge realized he had to let go to be rescued.  The next time you are overwhelmed in a challenging opportunity, and we all experience this, remember the three keys: accept the rescue, reframe your role, and reflect to prepare for the next opportunity.  Great leaders learn through resilience – may your life preserver be your ability to let go.