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Leaders must know when to dive in, when to back down

I learned to swim in the farm pond with the tutelage of Dad and my older brother. We built the pond the second summer we lived at Malaga. There was a huge oak tree in the middle of the site of the pond. Dad located some dynamite and proceeded to blast it out. We dug holes underneath the roots on both sides of the tree stump and placed a stick of dynamite in each. I was scared and exhilarated at the same time.

Before Dad lit the dynamite, he made sure we were safely tucked behind a tree about 50 yards away. He touched a match to the wicks of both sticks and ran to join us. Even with both hands over my ears, the sound was deafening. I felt the concussion and moments later pieces of dirt and small rocks rained down on us. A bulldozer finished the job.

Although with the summer rain we had a swimming hole, we preferred the Triple J swimming pool a quarter mile down the road. Kids from miles around frequented this establishment to get cool, use the high dive, and check out the opposite sex. When we boys could cajole Dad into giving us a day off, we plucked 50 cents out of our savings and ran to the public pool. Some were regulars and you could usually expect to see them but there were often new girls to meet from Somerton or even Barnesville.

Of course, we had to show off to the girls by going off the high dive. I was 9 when my courage bloomed and my confidence outsized itself. I slowly made my way up the ladder with older boys behind me barking, “Come on, get up there.” When I reached the platform, I realized how bad an idea it was. I looked down the ladder for a safe escape but it was full of waiting divers.

I stared out the board that seemed to have no end and froze. I shook off the stare and started the long walk down the plank. Few pirates could have been more nervous than I.

I knew how to dive off the side of the pool but at this height, it didn’t seem wise. Indecision was killing me so I ran off the end of the board and landed feet first.

When money was tight, we always had the pond as a fall-back for swimming. However, the social aspects were absent.

In the case of my first high dive experience and in a few other situations in my life, I made choices from which I could not back down.

Sometimes leaders need to dive in when changes are required or customer desires migrate. One of the key leadership skills is knowing when to dive in and when to back down and give the situation more thought. At times, experience tells us which approach is best. Other times, intuition is our guide. In today’s environment, that choice for leaders is more and more frequent.

R. Glenn Ray, Ph.D., is the president of RayCom Learning. To learn more about Ray’s completely revised, third printing of “The Facilitative Leader: Behaviors that Enable Success,” visit his Web site, www.raycomlearning.com or call him at 740-629-4536. Everyday Leadership appears each Wednesday on the Business page.

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