Leadership Traffic Jam

I love finding leadership moments in the simple things. This morning on my way to the office, I came upon a familiar place but not a familiar scene.

I drive by a school intersection every day. Normally there is a police officer present to direct drivers due to the heavy amount of traffic. This morning there was no police officer directing traffic. Hence, we were all winging it. Some drivers politely waved others through. Others barely tapped the brakes before gunning it, regardless of whether it was their turn to go. The result was a traffic jam (pictured above). Cars were backed up in every direction even though there were no more commuters this morning than there are on any other morning!

The only difference this particular morning was that we had no leader providing us with direction. We had no one leading us to make sure we were moving in the direction we were supposed to go. Instead of getting angry, I had to grin, grab my phone, and take a picture. I immediately knew that I wanted to share this leadership experience. Here are three lessons this situation illustrates:

Giving direction during tough times

In my last post on leading to the conditions, I discussed giving direction as an important leadership element during tough times. This traffic jam represented tough times, and we needed and wanted someone to direct us. The lack of direction was frustrating, and many drivers started making their own driving rules. The result of everyone doing his or her own thing made the commute to our destination worse.

Yes, I’m a leader…. but I’m also a follower

Every leader needs to be a great follower. While I love leading the way, I don’t mind following when someone else is capable, focused, and has the vision. I never question following the directions that the traffic officers gives us. In fact, if I can rely on him to lead, then I can focus on doing other things. This is no different in business. If, as a leader, I can follow other teammates when they are leading a meeting, a project,or a department, I then have opportunity to think more creatively or use my time and mental capacity on another project. Following is a skill set, and every leader should be willing to follow.

Appreciate good leadership

I must confess, all these mornings I have taken our traffic officer for granted. Every morning he has directed all of us so efficiently, and we just followed along never thinking anything great of his work. Well, this morning I felt differently. I missed him, needed him, and now totally appreciate him. Why did it take the traffic officer being gone for me to appreciate his work? Shame on me!

I love looking for leadership. There is a leadership lesson, good or bad, happening all the time. Find the fun in discovering them, reflecting on them, and using them as teaching moments with your team.