Wisdom Walk: You Don’t Want to Be a Frog at A Buffalo Stampede

By Jay Galbraith

Do you remember as a kid when your parents would have a skirmish between them and one of them would look at you and ask … what do you think? In that moment, you realize that you have been caught in a cosmic vortex of which there is no good answer, and the chances of survival are minimal. This is the 14th edition of the Wisdom Walk series designed to offer a pathway to authentic leadership utilizing pearls of wisdom.

There is no doubt as a young person on a leadership journey, the hardest thing to learn and navigate is when you are caught between leaders or bosses. You want to please, support, help, and achieve — but you are caught in an untenable situation where whichever you choose will disappoint one side and could harm your relationship/position.

Early in my career while working on a congressional campaign, I remember clearly being caught in the power vortex between a senior campaign staffer and the chief of staff. There was intense friction between the two of them on how the campaign should be run — to the point that they would not talk at times. And me, being young, over confident, and very idealistic, I thought I could bridge the gap, create peace, and calm waters. Oh, how young and naive I was. The leaders should have worked out their differences between them — but instead I jumped in the middle and learned the hard way the law of:

You Don’t want to be a Frog at the Buffalo Stampede

I got stomped on several times very hard and learned that at times you need to not be the nitro in an explosive situation when others who are much more powerful than you are holding glycerin. Human nature dictates that we want to help solve human challenges. However, when the entities are much more powerful than you, have direct self-interests or large encompassing agendas, your engagement is a direct hindrance to their agenda.

How do you identify a Buffalo Stampede? When operating inside a corporation or organization — you are smart enough to know if you are high enough on the food chain to be the Buffalo, or if you are the Frog. Let’s assume you are the Frog. Look around and if you are reporting to someone who is about to enter a large project where their counterpart might be competing or may have issues with them, that is likely your first sign that a stampede is in the works.

What do you do if you see a stampede coming? Take a quick inventory of your role or your organization’s role in the situation and the overall mission/game. Always stay true to your values and character. If you can and there is no need — keep your head and your organization’s head down and out of the fray. Let the fight happen and go past you.

Warning: If there is no need to engage — don’t. You will draw attention to yourself and the Buffalo could stop and focus on you. The stampede is going to happen — focus on your mission and don’t get distracted by just watching.

How do you survive or get your work done and focused on during the stampede? Do your job! Keep your character! Keep your team focused on the mission! Realize circumstances and events are not about you! And, this will pass!

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Jay Galbraith lives in Winter Garden, Florida and is married to a rock star homeschool mom. They have four kids. Jay serves on the administrative staff at Valencia College.