“I AM THE CAPTAIN NOW”
It’s the iconic scene in the Tom Hanks movie. The Somali pirates take over the tanker. They dethrone Captain Phillips as the ship’s principal, and the Somali leader declares, “I am the captain now.”
In so many teams, the leaders can lie to themselves about their own leadership. They can tell themselves fibs like,
-Everything’s fine
-It’s on autopilot
-My kids are old enough; they don’t need me
-The team runs itself
-It’s all automated
-The kids are about to move out
-We’re going to have to make cuts, so it’s best if we sever communication early
-We’re all on the same page
-Surely, we all see the same thing
But in the absence of a leader, one will emerge. In other words, there is never not a leader. There will always be a leader.
In a marriage relationship, in a family, on a team, or in a large organization, when a leader does not fill the space they’re supposed to, that vacuum will be filled by another leader.
“In the absence of a leader, one will emerge. In other words, there is never not a leader. There will always be a leader.”
Fill the space in order to avoid mutiny.
Choose whatever metaphor you like, but choose a useful one and gravitate toward it. Fill the leadership space like a candle: something that fills a space with light and fragrance. Or fill the space like a song. But, fill the space.
If you don’t, the space will be filled.
Look at your roles and craft interactions where you infuse your team with positive leadership.
[NOTE: the best practice is good leadership. And poor leadership is bad. But, by far, the worst option is NO leadership. Where there is neglect, leaders are asking for trouble. They’re not filling the space with proactive, forward-facing leadership. Remember, there will be a leader.]
Where there is no leadership, that vacuum can be filled by any voice that is louder, particularly those voices of mal-intent. Fill the space. Who runs the show? “I am the captain now.”