Given we live only 400m from one of the biggest wave and rip currents in Sydney, we immediately started our kids in the weekend ocean nippers beach and surf safety program. It has been a great experience and now that all of our kids are older we know that they can keep themselves and their friends safe if they swim at any beach in Australia (I would mention that they are now better in the surf than I am, but I would not want it to go to their heads!)
As our kids got older, my wife and I completed the Bronze Medallion Course and we are now very active in volunteering for South Curl Curl Surf Lifesaving Club. This is a great way to give back to the local community and enjoy time in the sun and surf.
One requirement of being an Active Surf Life Saving Patrol Member is that you need to re-certify your capabilities with first aid and water safety once a year. This takes place in a Proficiency Test that is both written to check your knowledge and physical as you need to demonstrate that you know how to effectively administer CPR, swim a minimum distance and rescue someone in the surf. In years past this was a fairly easy process, now as I get older and have a few injuries it creates a bit more of a challenge (not that I am getting old!).
It makes me think about leaders in the workplace. I was speaking with a Managing Director yesterday and he was very excited about one of his key executives resigning. I knew that there had been a few issues with their behaviour and impact on other staff, however they had just let it slide until things just became too challenging. When we spoke it was clear that this staff member was no longer proficient in their ability to demonstrate leadership effectively. Now that this person is no longer there, the office morale has significantly improved, and their productivity has as well (even without replacing her!)
So how proficient are you? Often we know what we should be doing as leaders, but do we always demonstrate what effective leadership looks like? If you had to “re-certify” your role as a leader, would you be proficient enough? Or are there a few areas that you need to improve your focus on?
If you are a leader that would like to have a complimentary session with me to check your proficiency (or checking your leadership team’s), feel free to reach out. Click here for a complimentary session with me.
Remember, Stay True to Your Path.
