The Tribe Gathering - Sunday Mindset for The Week Ahead

“The red flags are usually there, you just have to keep your eyes open wider than your heart.” - April Mae Monterrosa

A beach vacation in Florida without kids. You sleep in, eat a great brunch, and enjoy time on the balcony drinking coffee. A true “parents’ pipedream.” As you watch the morning walkers, runners, and fishermen pass by and plan your day in the sand and water it’s time to pack up and grab a spot! Sunscreen? Check. Beach towel? Check. Sunglasses…with safety strap…check. Time to go! Except that it’s 2 o’clock pm and the everyday thunderstorm that you could practically set an alarm to pops up and sends you scurrying back inside. No worries! It’ll pass in half an hour. And, as the rain and lightning clears, you check the window as eagerly as a kid on Christmas morning waiting for their parents to wake. You’re looking for the sign that paradise is back open for business. The signs are there. Waving high in the sky like a beacon either calling you like a siren song from the ocean, or warning you of eminent danger. Flags are the lifeguard’s means of communication to you and other beach patrons that everything is fine, that there are things to be aware of, or that there are dangerous conditions. If only life, and our team, group, workplace, or company cultures had such a warning system….

But what if, as a leader, you use your “superpowers” and relationships with your team to identify the “flags” that are being presented for the behaviors and/or attitudes that manifested them? An examination of the parallels between the nautical and cultural warning systems could keep you from treading into rough waters, or worse, being swallowed whole by the abyss of decaying culture.

Purple Flag (Aquatic wildlife present) - Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, it’s feeding time. It could be as simple as a jellyfish sting or as serious as a 1970’s beach thriller that haunts us still today. And just like some pesky water critters can pop up in the surf, ENTITLEMENT can creep into your team culture, sometimes without being noticed until it’s too late and it’s hungrily circling your team. Sadly, this can occur during the best of times. Your team is finding success with every effort like a kid searching for seashells. When out of nowhere, the attitude that you or a team member deserve to find a “bigger shell” than anyone else comes washing up. An award, promotion, special treatment, or exemption from expectations can do as much damage to your team’s culture as a hungry great white with a surfboard.

Orange Windsock (Strong offshore winds) - Though the orange signal isn’t cause for panic, taking a nap in your donut floaty and waking up in Cuba just might be. The orange flag is an alert that strong offshore winds are present and that the use of a floating apparatus is to be excluded or done so carefully. Culturally, the presence of foolish PRIDE/EGO in your leadership or team’s attitude needs to be dealt with by being immediately deflated like your lounger floaty. Ego, if left unchecked, can push you further away from your “shore” where you’re grounded in who you really are and in your team’s core values. You can lose sight of your purpose as a leader just as fast as a gust or rip current can pull you out into unknown and foreign waters.

Yellow flag (Medium hazard, rip currents expected, & swim with a partner) - It can happen to anyone. You dismiss the yellow flag and go diving in. But at a moment’s notice the yellow conditions can become red without having time to react and you find yourself frantically bobbing and treading water. Such is being UNPREPARED. Phrases such as, “I’ve got this,” “I can wing it,” “This is the way we’ve always done it.” Can be your last words before catastrophic failure due to not looking ahead, being proactive, thinking progressively, or being fully prepared. Having a teammate, colleague, administrator, coach, or other leader to “swim with us” and hold us accountable can save us from disaster.

Red Over Yellow Flags (Designated swim zones with lifeguards present) - They aren’t the perfectly tanned super humans on Baywatch and they can’t always save you. Lifeguards are there to detect things that you’ve become too lazy or unaware to detect yourself. When success seems to be coming to you too easily or we become consumed by our work, behavioral traits such as COMPLACENCY & BURNOUT can overwhelm us like a storm rolling in that you didn’t notice. And, it happens to us all. I can vividly recall a coaching assessment I took part in. I had grown complacent and it was all over my body language even though I hadn’t noticed. Hands in my pocket, staring at the ground, and frustrated. The picture my assessor showed me caused a wave of embarrassment to wash over me. The tide of humility drowned my pride and I grabbed hold of that lifeline to pull myself back up. Examine your efforts and if they don’t align with your purpose and philosophy of leadership, it may be time to search for a different swimming hole or simply to be more aware of the “waters” you’re spending your time in. A good teammate can help us open our eyes to this.

Red over Red (The water is closed) - Don’t do it. It’s really that simple, yet there are still those that go into the water, but don’t come out of their own volition. And whether you’re on the beach or in the boardroom, SELFISHNESS can lead to the loss of actual life and the life of your team’s culture. When we as leaders or as teammates seek to serve our team rather than ourselves, then we can avoid the deadly waters of seeking to fulfill what we want at the expense of ourselves and those around us. Keep your team first and self second. When experiencing the temptation to dip your toes in the surf of selfishness, take a look at those around you. They’re worth you sticking around for. They’re worth you setting an example for.

As a leader, watch over yourself and your team from a bird’s eye view but also get some sand on your feet. Practice humility and self-analysis often. Know your people and form deep relationships with them so that you can all see the flags that warn you of present conditions or trouble to come. If we can practice mindfulness in such a manner, then your “day at the beach” can always look like this guy below.

Enjoy your summer and soak up the little moments with the people you care for. They’re gone before you know it, this is your yellow flag moment to be present this week.