Taking a Ride on the Leadership Highway

Do you lead like you drive?

As I was driving to the airport the other morning, I couldn’t help but notice that highway driving has a lot in common with leadership.

I’d like to explore some leadership questions that come up when we think about driving on the highway and examine the different kinds of drivers (i.e., leaders). I invite you to evaluate (honestly) which type of leader/driver you are.

Leading is like driving

First, you need a purpose for taking a drive. Sure, sometimes you go out just to enjoy your car and the weather. Other times you need to go to the store or visit friends. Sometimes you have a flight to catch or an appointment and you have to be on time. If you pull out of your driveway with no sense of purpose, odds are you’re going to get lost and frustrated on your way.

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Comments

A Salty Dog

I beg Procol Harum's pardon for quoting what's probably one of their best songs. I'm no sailor myself but I'm enchanted by ships and by whatever goes above and below seas and oceans. I share your point of view but I would rather compare leadership to "a captain's duty", if you saw the film or read the book. Man's adventures on water, be it rivers, seas or oceans, were the first to prove his value, and still they are: a car is a toy compared to a ship, just the same as a motorway is almost a nothing when compared to a giant port like Rotterdam or Singapore, for example. We're all too used to think of cars as the ultimate vehicle: they are not.

Back seat drivers

Sometimes people in back seats of cars like to drive. Even if they don't know where they're going, how to get there, and even if they're not good in the driver's seat themselves, they feel the need to lead from a poor, back-seat perspective. Often times, it accomplishes nothing beyond distracting the driver. CRASH. If the driver doesn't know where the destination is or how to get there, it would seem appropriate to stop the car and figure it out. Maybe switch drivers.