Hi my beautiful peeps! Today I’m taking you way back to an earlier time, before automobiles or power boats piloted by a single person. We’re going back to a time when super teams harnessed the wind to travel the globe together. As we continue through the ACTT Blueprint for Leaders and Entrepreneurs we are talking about Crew!
C IS FOR CREW
Think about how a ship in the 18th century operated. Both the Captain and the Crew have one common goal—smooth sailing! The Crew is reliant on the Captain to operate skillfully and make good decisions, and the Captain is reliant on the Crew to act on their strengths. Each member on the ship is a leader who relies on the other leaders to perform their roles for the good of everyone. So, you can see that the Crew and the Captain have an inter-dependent relationship with one another, what we call in Corporate America a “Shared Vision.” I strongly believe that with all of our technology today, we have a false sense of independence, and although we don’t “need” one another for survival, we still could all use a little smooth sailing in our lives by acknowledging our interdependence and being a member of a strong Crew.
Being the youngest by nine years in my family with parents who fought all the time, I ran from almost any form of a good Crew. As I grew older, I wanted to have good Crew. I just didn’t know how. At 26 years old I made a decision to find out how to be in good relationships. I went to any meeting, any class that would teach me the life skills I didn’t learn growing up. One of the most impactful programs, for me, is a 12-step program called Al-anon. The only requirement of Al-anon membership is that we have been affected by someone else’s drinking. Know anyone like that? Through Al-anon, I found a loving sponsor, Lillian, who has become like a mom to me. A sponsor is like a mentor for those of you who are not familiar with the 12-steps. Lillian eventually “adopted” me into her Italian family. I am so grateful to have Lillian in my life. She taught me so much about being and staying with a good healthy Crew. In fact, if it weren’t for her, I would not be who I am today and I certainly wouldn’t have good members of my Crew.
Your Crew
Take a moment now and answer the following questions.
1. Who is your Captain? Not your boss, not your client, not your life partner, and not your mama)!
2. What do you call that part of yourself that leads you from within towards the fulfillment of your life purpose –Your Leader Within? Your Captain?
3. Who in your life provides you a “big picture view” of what is happening (Leader from the Field)?
4. Who in your life possesses the professional tools necessary to move you forward (e.g. a mentor – Leader from the Front)?
5. Who in your life are you so close to in thought that you can’t remember who said what (Leader from Beside)?
6. Who in your life works as an emotionally supportive person, e.g. a coach (Leader from Behind) offering you thought provoking questions?
Did a Crew member come to mind for each of the questions? It’s not unusual to have missing Crew members not aligned with our shared vision. And guess what? – Each and everyone one of us deserves to have a complete Crew. And with our Crew, we fill our sails and find new horizons.