Do Not Underestimate the Liability of Not Knowing Your Limitations
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This past weekend my wife and I set out on what for us was intended to be an adventure. It was indeed an adventure and it turned out to be a humbling learning experience as well. The narrative that follows is a bit long but not nearly so long as my memory of the events of the weekend will be.
For some years now I have held to the belief that when it comes to teamwork and collaborative initiative the person you need to know best and first is yourself. Knowing what you want is only part of the equation for success. You also need to know what you are capable of and what you are not in order to know who to ask for help and for what to ask them. In 2008 in a slim volume titled ‘Managing Oneself’ managers are urged by the master of modern management theory, Peter Drucker**, to study themselves. He said in effect
“Cultivate a deep understanding of yourself by identifying your most valuable strengths and most dangerous weaknesses. Articulate how you learn and work with others and what your most deeply held values are. Describe the type of work environment where you can make the greatest contribution.”
Knowing your strengths is certainly a high priority but this weekend I learned first hand that not knowing your limitations can make you a liability that is invisible until the most inopportune moment.
Here on Fidalgo Bay in our home town of Anacortes, WA being on the water in one form or another is a natural part of living in the area. In fact not being on the water seems downright unnatural. We’ve been here for almost five years and with the exception of one tour on the whale watching boat we have not ventured closer to the water than to toss rocks from the shore of the many beaches we hiked to and from. Kayaking has always intrigued both of us and is in our future plans. Sailing, however, is a bit more familiar, at least to my wife who some years back spent many hours as a member of sailboat crews. So last week when she saw an announcement that adult sailing classes were going to be offered again by the local parks and recreation department she suggested we sign up immediately and just jump at the chance. So we did.
I have spent little time myself on the water over my lifetime. Water sports always seemed interesting but I just never made the time. I am not a particularly good swimmer, in fact I am poor but I have a lot of confidence in flotation devices and am always willing to put myself in the hands of instructors I feel are competent. Saturday was the perfect setting for a day on the water, bright sunshine, mild breezes and a cloudless sky. So we packed our lunches and by noon were already rigging our boat for our first turn on the water. My wife had mentioned that she always wanted to be the captain so I offered her first go at handling the tiller. Things went very well, I was her crew and with some trial and error she managed to get a basic handle on the notions of jibing and tacking, the fundamental turning moves in a sailboat.
When it was my turn to take the tiller the entire experience changed in the matter of a few moments. I found that I was confused by the necessary coordination that needs to go on between the mainsail and the tiller. Added to that the boat was small and the cockpit required an agility that I currently do not have, I kept losing my hold on the tiller as I made the exchanges from one side of the boat to the other. Finally, I found myself and the mainsail on the same side of the boat. According to my instructor this was a certain pathway to capsizing. He was correct.
In less time than it takes to describe my wife and I were both in the water and the boat was on its side. At first this may sound like just plain summer fun but we live in the northwest where the water stays at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit for most of the year. Research has shown that in water that temperature your chances of surviving a fifty yard swim wearing a life jacket are about 50/50. Not great odds as you can see so “in the water” is considered bad.
When I hit the water I was not prepared for the immediate cold I experienced. My breath was literally taken away. Fortunately our instructors were nearby in inflatable motor launches and within seconds they were alongside providing comforting words and encouragement. Within a couple of minutes I was able to catch my breath and comfortably hold on to the side of the motor launch. It was only then that I had my first thoughts of how my wife was faring! For a full three or four minute period after we hit the water she was out of my mind completely as I gasped to recover my normal breathing. Did I assume she would be OK because she is a strong swimmer? I’d like to be able to say I was that conscious. In truth I was so consumed with getting myself back under some sort of control that she was out of mind altogether.
The next awakening came once the boat was righted. We needed to get back in the boat. My wife scrambled in quickly and I grabbed the side attempting to pull myself up. It was then that I realized I was not strong enough to pull myself back in the boat! I turned to the young instructor and let him know that I’d need his help. Thankfully his experience, youth and strength were enough to compensate for my insufficient physical condition.
Back at home that night as I replayed the entire event in my head I suddenly realized that I had unknowingly put both myself and my wife in jeopardy. In my superficial approach to being out in the small sailboat it had not occurred to me that at some point I might be in the water, and what that would mean. It was clear to me then that if it had not been for the expertise of the instructors Saturday was not destined to end well. What’s more, rather than being a partner for my wife in an adventure I was an unintended consequence waiting to happen.
Sunday I returned to class and the first thing we needed to do was a capsize drill. I volunteered first but insisted that I partner with another man closer to my size. I knew my wife could not possibly right a boat if she needed to pull my weight as well and I also knew now that if I pulled the boat upright I still wouldn’t be able to get in on my own. So in choosing my partner I made my limitations clear at the outset. He agreed to assume responsibility for my limitations and within a couple of minutes we were able to intentionally capsize, pitching ourselves into the chilly water, and then successfully right our craft using a method that allowed me to be pulled back in the boat as it went upright.
I have been working out for a few months now but I now see that if I plan to pursue sailing or kayaking for that matter I need to resolve my physical limitations or the next water adventure may not end as well. And my wife has made it clear that there will be no two-person kayaking…ever!
- Are you sufficiently cognizant of your own limitations to know when you might be a liability for your direct reports or peers?
- Are you prepared to or have you owned up to your limitations in such a way as to empower and not deflate your reports and peers.
If you are really up for a challenge read “Stop Overdoing Your Strengths” by Robert Kaplan and Robert Kaiser. As you read the article you may be stimulated to ask yourself, “If I am overdoing my strengths what limitations am I masking?”
