Servant of the Boat
“She’s as integral to the boat as the rowers are; they can’t do it without her.”
– Tom Terhaar
Head Coach, US Women’s Olympic Rowing Team
(1969 – )
“King of the Hill?”
or
“Servant of the Enterprise?”
For Dessert today, we’re serving up an article about the U.S.A. Women’s Eight Oared Racing Shell, which concluded an eleven-year championship run with two Golds… Praise is superfluous.
But we think for true leadership, there can be no better example.
So many times, when people are called to leadership, their head, self-perception and ego all seem to pass through an “inflation zone” wherein they become power obsessed and self-aggrandizing. When enjoying a promotion, these people somehow get the mistaken idea that the organization now centers on them. They suffer “King of the Hill” syndrome. Lost in their new rank, they fancy themselves better, smarter and more deserving than others. You may have worked “for” such an individual. (We hope not for long…)
Here’s what we believe is a truer leadership perspective and an example to boot: The “Coxswain” is the only person who can actually see where the boat is going: hence is in position to steer… Aha! She’s at the back, on the job, guiding the rudder. The Coxswain also looks after the team’s orchestration; calling the stroke, rhythm and pace. From her vantage point, she can clearly see all the oar tips and catch/clear any rhythmic deficiencies. She keeps up a running race commentary to focus people on the job, not the pain of doing it. She concentrates on what only she can do — keep the team focused on what only they can do. Good Coxswains are beyond price. And their teams love and lionize them — also throw them in the river after the race to prevent swelling of the head. After all, the Cox doesn’t move the boat; OARSMEN do that. Being a great Coxswain (Boat Servant) entails being OK with having one’s ego regularly reduced by cold river baths. Hey, you don’t compete unless you’ve got a ride… A good thing if all leaders were treated with such tough love.
Coxswains, and Great Leaders while beyond price; come last. (Washington, Listen up!)
Applications:
1. Personally:
Ever wondered why you just can’t get a break at Starbucks? Ever taken the time to learn the Barista’s name? YOU don’t make the coffee; THEY do! Gotta love ’em into great service!
2. At Home:
Ever stayed home, waiting for the service guy, then treated him like an infantile servant? Did the A/C break again (at a price of $530 for the call)? Maybe we should begin by giving the service industry a little more respect… Less heat, more appreciation. Stepping back from the service thing: How about the way-too-familiar way you may be dismissing your family members ’cause you know them too well for actual praise and admiration — they’re lucky you don’t publish their mistakes directly to Facebook… Let’s take a lesson from Crews and Coxswains: appreciation and tough love.
3. At Work:
Working for someone, or working with a great team? Your attitude can begin to form the nucleus of a winning organization. Don’t even think about being King of the Hill! Promotion isn’t a “promotion,” it’s going to the “back of the boat.” It’s being placed in a position that only you can accomplish: see the line, set up the boat, steer the course and keep the team turned on! If you serve the boat well, the team wins.
YOU don’t get it done; THEY Do! But maybe because you became the “Servant of the Enterprise…”
Dessert:
Under the direction of the 5-foot-3 Mary Whipple, the American Women’s Eight Oared boat has not lost since 2006.
Macur, Juliet. “On Rowing Team, Smallest Body Has the Voice of Authority”
New York Times 1 August 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/02/sports/olympics/voice-of-authority-directs-us-womens-rowing-team.html?pagewanted=all
“Standing among the crew of her eight-oared boat, one member of the United States women’s rowing team is a sapling among redwoods.
At 5 feet 3 inches, she is about 11 inches shorter than her teammates’ median height. At 106 pounds soaking wet, she is nearly 70 pounds lighter than her teammates’ average weight.
During workouts, she cannot keep up with their strength or stamina. During races, when rowers exhaust every muscle and struggle to breathe as their lungs cry out for oxygen, she is not called upon to lift a finger.
This teammate, Mary Whipple, sits at the stern and, as the only person that faces forward in the shell, appears to be along for the ride as her team ferries her to the finish line.
She is the coxswain, a role virtually unique in sports because that person does not contribute physically to the competition. Frankly, she does not have to be athletic at all.
“I’ve always joked that I’m just a sandbag, and I’m dead weight,” Whipple said with a laugh. “But really, I’m much more than that.”
The word coxswain (pronounced COX-en) means boat servant. That person is like a coach in the boat, steering, executing race strategy, keeping a crew synchronized and motivating rowers to pull harder on their oars.
A great one, like Whipple, is invaluable. So after the team found her a dozen years ago, it kept her.”
Click here to read the rest of the article…
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