Tag Archive for: adaptive leadership

Duct Tape Leadership

There are moments in life when you begin to realise just how important your particular seat on an aeroplane has become.
A couple of days ago, on our Delta flight home from Atlanta, Georgia, that seat happened to be mine, 48E. Or, more precisely, the overhead bin directly above it.
The plane was full. Everyone was seated and the flight was due to depart at 10.50pm. It was now 11.20 pm local time. Most of us were tired, increasingly hungry, and rather keen to begin the journey home.
There was only one small problem.
The overhead bin above my seat would not close. 🤨
At first, one member of staff appeared. Then another. Then another. And then another.
Before long, four mechanics were gathered in the aisle, carefully examining the offending compartment.
There were tools, torches, discussions, puzzled expressions and several increasingly determined attempts to persuade it to cooperate.
The passengers around me became quite invested in the outcome.
It felt a little like watching a particularly tense episode of The Repair Shop, except we were all trapped inside the workshop, with little progress being made.
Of course, safety matters. I was genuinely grateful that the crew took the problem seriously.
However, there was still something quite amusing about the situation.
A large aircraft. Sophisticated technology. Highly trained pilots. Hundreds of passengers. The ability to fly thousands of miles across an ocean.
And the one thing standing between us and Scotland was a cupboard door above seat 48E.
After more than an hour, several tools and a fair amount of brute force, the breakthrough finally came.
The magic solution?… Tape. Lots of tape.
The bin was sealed shut, labelled “UNSERVICEABLE – DO NOT USE”, and quietly retired from active duty for the flight.
It turns out the answer to the question, “How many mechanics does it take to close an overhead bin?” is: Four mechanics, one hour, a couple of metres of tape – and a formal retirement notice for a cupboard door.
There was a wee leadership lesson in it too.
Not every problem needs an elegant solution straight away.
Sometimes good leadership is about making things safe, keeping people moving and fixing it properly later.
What are you overcomplicating that may simply need a practical next step?

Every Club Counts

Yesterday, while co-facilitating a Lead the Way session at Aviva in Perth, we were exploring leadership styles.

Towards the end of the session, I thought it was time to bring a little unexpected fun into the room. Earlier that morning, in my preparations for the session, I’d had a silly idea…

So… out came the golf clubs. ⛳

A driver, 3 wood, 4 iron, pitching wedge, sand wedge and of course… my putter.

A few slightly puzzled faces looked back at me!

I asked if there were any golfers in the room and one participant bravely volunteered to come forward.

What followed was part leadership lesson, part comedy golf challenge.

We talked about how no golfer would ever play an entire round with just one club.

The driver might help you launch down the fairway, but it’s hopeless in a bunker.

And a putter is perfect on the green, but not much use off the tee.

The wedge helps with delicate recovery shots.

Each club has a purpose for a specific situation and good golfers learn to read the course ahead of them.

In a sense Leadership styles are very similar.

Great leaders don’t rely on one dominant style for every circumstance.

Sometimes a team needs a visionary leader who paints a compelling picture of the future.

At other times they need coaching and encouragement.

Or they may need clarity, pace, collaboration, challenge, reassurance or direction.

The real skill is sensing what the situation requires… and then reaching for the right “club.”

Of course, no leadership activity involving golf clubs would be complete without a little chaos.

So naturally, we finished by attempting to putt golf balls into a mug from across the room using different clubs.

Let’s just say the success rate varied considerably depending on the club selected!

There was plenty laughter, a little competitiveness, and more than a few surprisingly passionate putting techniques on display.

But beneath the fun sat a simple reminder:

Leadership flexibility matters and there is always a choice, but as we watched John we all realised how he slowed down and really concentred too.

The key message landed – the best leaders are not those who master only one style.

They are the ones who develop the awareness, confidence and adaptability to use the right style at the right moment for the people in front of them.

Or, to put it another way…

Sometimes leadership requires a driver, and sometimes it simply requires a very careful putt into a pink mug!

As leaders, are we carrying a full bag of clubs… or just swinging the same one over and over again?