Lesson 2.1 – Will you be a captain or a captive? (taking agency)
What do we need to learn, unlearn, and relearn? Let's discuss four foundational capabilities important to transforming you into a future leader.
First, leaders have a choice to make. You cannot choose your circumstances, but you can always choose how you respond. You have the choice. Will you choose to be a captain or a captain? Let's look at each.
A captain is someone who steps up to the helm, who steers the ship through the storm and motivates and engages the crew to achieve the mission. Sullenberger, pilot of flight 1549, faced a sudden and dire crisis, there was a bird strike. He lost both instruments. He didn't throw his hands and say we're all going to die. He and copilot Jeffrey Skilling took charge. He thought through what he needed to do. Sullenberger took the helm, he steered the plane or actually glided the plane to a safe outcome.
Captains know they can impact and influence the outcome and can choose how to respond. Or do you choose to be a captive, a victim? A person who says this is out of my control! Everything is happening around me. I can't do anything about it. You become a captive, literally of your own mind. A victim of circumstances. Can you imagine what would have happened if Sullenberger had thought like a captive and just thrown his hands up?
A captive goes to the bottom of the boat and is at the mercy of the waves. Captives don't do very well. They tend to have less pleasant experiences. You can find past captives in the corporate graveyards. You'll see the fallen and disgraced leaders who said they couldn't do anything. That is versus the captains who take charge and do something to make a difference.
Remember, it is your choice. In the next segment, we're going to be talking about the second thing we need to do which is see differently.