Photo by FreePik
We were cold. Not just a little chilled, but cold to the marrow of our bones. And wet. Our team was on the escape and evasion portion of aircrew survival school. During this part of the training we had to navigate with a map and compass (this was before everyone had a GPS) while trying not to be discovered and captured. That meant staying off roads and trails and moving slowly cross country, all the while being harassed by instructors who really did know where we were.
Our team was split into pairs with instructions to meet at a certain point. From there we would move to a location that was supposed to be safe for the night and which held the promise of some real food, something that had been scarce for the last week or so.
My partner and I successfully navigated to the rallying point and met up with the rest of our team. It was dark and wet, heavy snow was falling, making for a miserable trek to the safe site. The only indication that my feet were still attached was the wet sensation and the fact that I hadn’t fallen over. I couldn’t actually feel them. The tips of my heavy gloves still stuck out so I assumed my fingers hadn’t broken off, though I couldn’t really feel them either. We all knew that hypothermia and frostbite were serious threats and we needed a fire to warm ourselves. Without saying much, we all picked up some sticks and threw them in a pile. We had some small pyrotechnic fire starters which we were instructed to carry but only use in an emergency. We figured this was pretty close to an emergency so we pulled one out, lit it, and threw it in that pile of sticks. The fire starter did its job, the sticks caught fire, and the whole team stood staring as the fire flared up, then went out.
We had made two critical mistakes. First, we allowed the situation to get the better of us. Yes, we were cold and uncomfortable but we still had an important job to do. Leaders can’t always afford the luxury of feeling sorry for themselves. The situation may be less than ideal, but the job still has to be done and successful leaders don’t give up.
Second, we had started the job without making sure we had the right resources. One of the most common examples of this I see happens with new supervisors and managers. They’re put in a position of leadership, yet they receive little or no leadership training. They might get a fire started, but they don’t have the right skills to keep it going.
We did do something right though. We didn’t let failure win. Too often leaders accept defeat and don’t fight back. It’s okay to fall back and regroup, but don’t quit. Use the opportunity to learn from your mistakes, make the necessary corrections, then attack the problem again. That’s what we did. It was embarrassing to admit we had screwed this up so badly, but we had to swallow our pride, admit our mistakes, and come up with a new plan. We each went out to get more wood and agreed that no one would start the fire until we all returned with enough fuel to keep the fire going. Though it was difficult and a little painful, we laid a proper fire and this time it kept burning.
Success is easier when everything works in your favor. The sign of a good leader is what you do when you’re cold, wet, and hungry.