The Law of Navigation says “anyone can steer the ship but it takes a leader to chart the course”.
In his book, John Maxwell talks about 2 explorers venturing to Antarctica. The one was highly prepared and well studied for his journey from the clothing his team wore to the skills they possessed and the equipment they brought along, the worst that happened on his trip was that one member had to have a tooth extracted. The other appeared prepared but didn’t invest in the right clothing, equipment or skills and their journey was wrought with disastrous stories.
I am often reminded how this seemingly simple law can be very difficult to achieve. Leadership isn’t about crossing the finish line first, it is about bringing others with you. I wondered about how you help someone move from the law of process – where we take experience and reflect everyday and plan everyday ,to the law of navigation – where we chart the course. It seems to me that sometimes, people get stuck in the process. Without being able to navigate, or plan the way to the final goal, you end up wandering around in circles, and the team is deflated and as the leader you are worn out. So, I asked one of my mentors (Scott Faye) who is really good at these law of leadership and here is what he told me:
On the law of process you need to reflect on 6 lists:
- Start Doing
- Stop Doing
- To Do
- Not to Do
- Do More Of
- Do Less of
As a story to this point, Scott spoke of his friend in a prominent software company who always talks about bringing things to market at 80% completion because if you wait to bring it to market at 100%, it will never get there. In technology, nothing is ever 100% and what you think is going to be a high priority item turns out to be very low.
On the law of navigation Scott said:
“all is well that begins well” where most would say all is well that ends well.
As a story to this point, Scott spoke of his two friends one casts vision but needs people around him to chart the course, the other maps the course with a plan a, b, c and delivers that vision.
I am curious…what do you think?
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