Team Spirit in the Surf

"People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."

Rob Siltanen    

I have always been greatly intrigued by this highly respected charity and emergency service organisation and keen to understand what makes them tick so I jumped at the chance to gain some insights into this fascinating group of men and women who patrol our beaches.

It was a real pleasure and privilege to interview Patrol Captain Jason Dale of the Avalon Surf Life Saving NSW Club and learn from one of its long serving members.

His considerable experience of leading a team of club members to keep the beach at Avalon safe has given him an interesting perspective on leading others. And as someone who spends his working week in the meeting rooms and corridors of Corporate Australia, Jason was able to highlight some interesting parallels to the similar challenges of managing, motivating and leading a team of employees.

The Gift & the Challenge

The first thing that must be considered when thinking about the members of your local Surf Life Saving Club is that they are all volunteers and that they give up their free time to train and patrol our beaches to ensure that there is always someone on hand to help in our times of need. This time that they give to their local community is indeed a generous gift and sometimes this translates to the saving of a precious life.

According to federal and state definitions of volunteers, they are regarded as unpaid ‘workers’. Whilst I understand why this definition exists in terms of labour practice, legislation and principles, this distinction is perhaps overly simplistic, but it does highlight that when it comes to managing them there are many similarities with managing employees. It also does draw attention to the one obvious and important difference – that volunteers are not being paid to do their shift.

Getting someone to turn up that doesn’t ‘have’ to be there and isn’t paid to be there is an interesting challenge. Add to that, these good people that keep our beaches safe come from all walks of life with different backgrounds, ages and day jobs. They are in so many ways a representative sample of the melting pot that makes up modern Australia.

So, the fact that patrol members turn up for their shift is already a great achievement. So just why do they?

Their Motivation

From what Jason shared, club members have a shared sense of purpose in what they do with the charity. They have a strong belief in the cause and that they can make a real difference. In many ways joining a Surf Life Saving club is a form of calling. This also explains why they come back shift after shift, week after week, many for many years.

Another reason that they turn up is because they enjoy it and have a sense of achievement from what they do, be that from learning new skills from their training, completing difficult tasks or from saving lives and preventing injury. This deep feeling of pride and purpose also exists on days when there are no incidents or resuscitations which is evidence of good preventative work and a strong commitment to the organisation.

Ultimately, being part of something bigger than oneself is a core motivator and doing something special for others is meaningful.

This is what being part of the Surf Life Saving NSW. The team cohesion that is built at each club and sense of connection is what keeps bringing the volunteers back to the club to patrol the beaches.

Setting the Standard

Patrol groups number anywhere between 8 to 25 people or more and they variation in numbers depends on the size of the beach, conditions, seasonal periods… which makes managing them very similar to business teams whose sizes are comparable.

Another interesting parallel between a Patrol group on the beach and a team of employees, is their composition and the diverse nature of the roles, specialities and skills of its members.

Like a business leader, the Patrol Captain must mobilise, manage and oversee a diverse set of people from the IRB (Inflatable Rescue Boat) driver and crew members, ARTC (Oxygen) specialist and the rest of the patrol, all of whom must have at least a bronze medallion qualification and standard first aid training.

The entire patrol group is highly qualified and has a minimum level of intensive training and it is the responsibility of the Patrol Captain to play to the strengths of each individual and harness the team members, assign tasks and maintain the balance as they carry out their duties and deal with whatever scenario they are faced with.

Central to this is the trust that is developed in the capabilities of each team member and this starts from the pre-shift briefing to the way the group communicates and collaborates throughout their time on duty.

Personality & Personal Connections

There is also a social element to the team which serves to further foster trust and is evident when team members look forward to their time on the beach and seeing each other. So, besides a shared commitment to helping others, it is important that club members enjoy their time together as one motivator is not sufficient without the other for any length of time.

Keeping everyone engaged is particularly important in the quiet periods or moments of the day or when the weather is so poor that there are no members of the public on the beach as they are still on duty.

For Jason this has meant ensuring that little fun things, challenges, humour and personality are part of each shift to balance the serious with the light and the professionalism with personality. After all, as human beings, personal connection is critical, so it’s not just work, work, work…

A Helping Hand

Besides being on hand to help beach visitors stay safe, club members are encouraged to help their fellow volunteers and this they do in spades. Whether they take on shifts, substitute for colleagues who are off sick or step in to help their peers find a job, the camaraderie runs deep and wide so whatever the problem one of their own may face, be that on the beach or in their personal life it is not uncommon for one member to help another out of a ‘rip’.

The Ultimate Test & Reward

At the end of the day, unlike their fellow Australians in business, the ultimate test to the strength and partnership of the volunteer teams, is how they operate under pressure and when the chips are down, how they respond to a crisis and save lives. This is what Surf Life Saving NSW do well, can be proud of and should serve as a guiding light to business leaders.

A Final thought for you

I particularly liked and wanted to share with you the reader Jason’s observation that business leaders look at how their people use their discretionary time as a sign of commitment and that at Surf Life Saving NSW it’s all about discretionary time. This is what makes being part of a Surf Life Saving club similar and yet different to a business team.

Perhaps the key for business team leaders need to think about how they can connect with the key motivational drivers of their people and in so doing, perhaps they will find a way to tap into that discretional energy and passion pool that sits under the surface of us all.

"Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure."

Paulo Coelho