Leadership lessons from a houseboat holiday

My family and I are on Lake Macquarie on a houseboat for a New Year's break. I have been around boats most of my life and I love anything to do with water. I'm pretty experienced with most watercraft, but a 20 tonne houseboat and some windy weather combine for some interesting challenges, and some insights into becoming a better leader.

Be clear on your destination. Each morning we’d discuss what our goals for the day would be eg swimming, fishing, catching up with friends or chilling in a quiet spot. We’d then work out the best way to get there and what else we had to do to achieve the goals.

Be aware of your challenges. Before getting underway I gather as much information as I could on things like wind, tide, rain and other boating activity as it’s the busiest time of the year on the Lake.

Be prepared to be flexible. Things change quickly on the water and most of it is out of your control, so you may have to be willing to pivot from time to time.

Concentrate on your progress by using refence points. In the case of steering a houseboat, I mean this literally! They are slow to respond to changes in course and unless you are really focussed on reference points you will find yourself doing figure eights!

Check in on your crew. On board is my wife and two daughters aged 10 and 12. It is fair to say they aren’t as in love with the boating life as I am. I have had to check in with their happiness regularly so as to not have a mutiny!

Happy New Year and smooth sailing towards becoming a better leader in 2021.

Cheers

Greg