365-Day Project: Day 9

A Treasure Hunt in Nombre de Dios

Philip Nichols, Sir Francis Drake Revived?

With only fifty-two men, Sir Francis Drake conceives the idea of attacking his archenemy, Spain, at her most vulnerable point the treasure at Nombre de Dios.

(Drake died at Nombre de Dios, Jan. 9, 1596.)

I really enjoyed today’s reading about the exploits of Sir Francis Drake at Nombre de Dios (Panama).?Drake (c. 1540–1596) was an English explorer, naval officer and politician.?He sailed around the entire globe on a single expedition from 1577 to 1580.?Side note: while familiar with Drake, today’s reading has inspired me to read more about him and his incredible life.?

Today’s reading was written and published by Philip Nichols and Frances Drake (nephew) in 1626 from documented first-hand accounts of crew members.?The events captured in this excerpt put me right in the middle of the action of this historic confrontation.?As I read, I kept thinking about one of my favorite books, Treasure Island and the adventures in that wonderful story.?

My biggest take away from the reading was the way Drake’s leadership qualities influenced his crew.?During an attack on the Spanish to capture a significant treasure, Drake suffers a serious leg wound in battle.

“the blood having first filled the very prints which our footsteps made, to the greater dismay of all our company, who thought it not credible that one man should be able to spare so much blood and live.”

The entire crew encounters an infliction point.?Do they choose to capture the treasure or save their captain’s life??

Drake’s men decide to leave the vast treasure they found and get him back to their ship for lifesaving medical treatment.?Drake didn’t want to leave the battle and treasure, but his men insisted.?I am sure that Drake showed many leadership qualities during these adventures, but his best one might have been to empower his crew to make a major decision in a life-or-death moment when he couldn’t.?The crew recognized that maintaining the continuity of Drake’s leadership was more important than winning one battle or capturing treasure.

I believe we are all leaders in our lives and careers.?While we may not be sailing around the world or engaging in exciting battles over treasure, we can positively influence others every day.?

Does your leadership style empower others to make important decisions when you cannot?

Matt

To learn more about me, as well as my coaching services, please visit my website at?https://www.silverarrowcoaching.com/?or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Resources

Kindle version of The Harvard Classics ($1.99):?https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089K4RP1F/