“Sink or Swim” Is Not In The Leadership Effectiveness Manual

True Story

The student asked the teacher, “Could you say that again?”

“Your homework for tomorrow is page 141, problems 1-16.”

“But, we haven’t learned that lesson yet.  How can we do the homework?”

“When you present the homework problems on the chalk board tomorrow, we’ll go over them.

“The student responded bravely, but hesitantly “Isn’t that backwards?  Aren’t you supposed to teach us first     before we do the homework?”

The teacher frowned in displeasure and said, “This is a sink or swim world, young man.  Get used to it.”

At that the bell rang and students filed out.  The student turned to one of his friends and said, “I thought his job was to give us all a chance to get an A, not set us up for failure.”

Is “sink or swim” part of your leadership style or a common leadership style in your organization?  It’s an expedient way to lead, but not an effective way to lead.  And, if you lead this way, there is no chance for achieving industry leading results.

Some people justify it because of the demands of time.  But, it still results in ineffective leadership and mediocre results.

If you are an ineffective leader and you’re committed to do something about it, contact us.  We can help.  If you’re not committed to do something about it, please contact one of our competitors.

Image Credit: Juho Holmi