Delays, Diversions and Leadership

As I set off for work yesterday, my travel was beset with delays and diversions.

Leaving home a little later than usual, I immediately found myself in a long line of traffic as I headed out of town past the High School.

Further along, there was a road closure north of Wellwood, which meant I had to turn around and come back into town, where I was met with another line of traffic.

I then decided I’d be best to head along towards the motorway past the hospital, only to be met by yet another long line of cars as they queued at some temporary traffic lights.

My normal time to the motorway is around 8 minutes; yesterday’s was 28 minutes.

And then when I arrived in Perth, I faced another unexpected 15-minute delay as I encountered more traffic lights and roadworks again.

It was a little frustrating, to say the least.

Sometimes diversions and delays can be so annoying, and yet there is often very little we can do about them, other than adjust, stay patient, and keep moving forward.

It struck me later that the journey felt a lot like leadership.

Rarely is the road straight or predictable. Plans change. Obstacles appear without warning. Routes that normally work suddenly don’t.

In those moments, leadership is less about having the perfect plan and more about how we respond.

Good leaders stay calm when the route changes. They reassess, choose the next best option, and keep people moving in the right direction. They don’t waste energy wishing the road were different; they focus on navigating the one in front of them.

Because in leadership, just like on the road, progress rarely comes from a perfectly clear path. More often, it comes from patience, perspective, and the willingness to keep going even when the journey takes longer than expected.

What might unexpected detours be teaching you about patience and perspective?