Walking the leadership tightrope

Standing at only 5 feet and 5 inches and weighing in at only 140 pounds, by standards of stature, he was not that impressive. But Charles Blondin was a showman extraordinaire and people would come from all over the world to watch him perform. 

 

Blondin, also known as “The Great Blondin,” was a tightrope walker and was famous for his daredevil walks across Niagara Falls back in the 1800s. 

 

On one such occasion, he called out to the crowd, “ I am the Great Blondin, who believes I can cross Niagara Falls on this tightrope?” The crowd would roar with approval and watch in amazement. On another occasion, Blondin reached in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, and called out, “I am the Great Blondin, who believes I can cross Niagara Falls on this tightrope, while blindfolded?” The crowd roared with approval, “We believe!”

 

Then Blondin pulled away a sheet revealing a wheelbarrow. Again he called out to the crowd, “I am the Great Blondin, who believes that I can walk this tightrope across Niagara Falls, while blindfolded, pushing this wheelbarrow?” The crowd roared its approval, “We believe!” 

 

Finally, Blondin gave the ultimate challenge, “I am the Great Blondin, who wants to get in the wheelbarrow with me?” With that, the crowd fell silent.

 

In many ways, leadership is like walking a tightrope. You will have a lot of spectators and people will come from all over to cheer you on – until you ask them to get in the wheelbarrow with you.

 

But what are some of the more common tightrope issues leaders have to deal with? Here, I’d like to point out a few of the most common ones and why they are tightrope issues.

 

Walking the tightrope between your principles and popularity

 

It’s a struggle many leaders wrestle with — the balancing act between wanting to be liked versus doing the right thing.

 

Walking this tightrope can lead to you making decisions based on the way the winds of popular opinion are blowing today and your desire to be liked. When faced with this dilemma, always choose to stick to your principles over your popularity.

 

Walking the tightrope between putting the team above your personal success

 

This is another common tightrope leader’s walk — finding the balance between putting the good of the team ahead of your own personal success. 

 

When your people see that you will put them first, they will go the extra mile not just for the team but for you. 

 

Walking the tightrope between what your people need to hear and what they want to hear

 

How you communicate is just as important as what you communicate. Learning how to walk the tightrope in your communication between what your people need to hear and what they want to hear can be a real balancing act.

 

Make it a priority to learn how to genuinely communicate with your people and build off of a relationship of trust.

 

Walking the tightrope between empowering your people vs managing people

 

Every good leader knows that you manage things and lead people. Your balancing act is usually found between how you empower your people and falling back on managing them. Understand this – your people want to be empowered, not managed.

 

The sooner you learn this lesson as a leader the better for you and better for your team. Your work as a leader is to empower your people to become the best they can be. Sometimes that happens by getting out of the way.

 

Final Thoughts

 

Walking the tightrope in leadership is nothing new. Keep your focus on what matters most and don’t allow yourself to lose your balance due to things that don’t matter. Keep your focus and always put others first.

 

©2022 Doug Dickerson 

Visit dougdickerson.net/ to read more.