Step Into the Boat

Putting LITER into Practice

There’s a reason why SLG uses competitive rowing as a metaphor for leadership. The drama of the race resembles the turbulence of leadership, and it’s only by holding closely to the foundations of virtuous leadership that a crew stands a chance to win. More than any other sport, rowing requires a deeply integrated team and a shared commitment to a common goal.  There’s no room in the shell for individual glory, no chance to stand out from teammates.  There’s a selflessness in rowing that isn’t found to the same degree in other sports, and there’s a selflessness that underpins SLG’s model of leadership. To understand rowing is to understand the virtues of leadership, because getting the best out of any team requires the same attention to Love, Integrity, Truth, Excellence, and Relationships that crew teams rely on to win.

Love

Rowing hurts. It places an immense amount of strain on the body, and even well-conditioned rowers reach a point in every race where their muscles and their minds are screaming at them to stop. Pushing through that kind of pain is hard, but rowers find a way to persevere. A sense of personal determination is part of what keeps them going, but the decisive factor is the love they feel for their teammates, for their coaches, for their school. Love is about caring for the needs and well-being of others before ever thinking about your own, and that type of love is essential to push rowers through seemingly intolerable moments of pain. When everything inside a rower tells them to stop, it’s love for others that keeps them going. This is true on every team navigating inevitable hardships and challenges. It’s too easy to quit if that decision won’t hurt the people you care about.   It becomes almost impossible to stop, no matter the challenge, if you love the people, the organization, and the mission of whatever it is you’re working for.

Integrity

Rowing offers an infinite number of opportunities to show your teammates who you are. Every catch can be on time or not. Every pull of the oar can be at maximum power or less. When the oarlocks need greasing, the hull could use wax, or the trailer breaks down, people notice who steps up and who hangs back. In crew as in leadership, our teammates need to know that we’re committed to each other and the work in good times and bad. They need to see our willingness to complete any task we might delegate. They need to see us show up on time for meetings, treat each person with dignity and respect and generally practice what we preach. Our character is revealed in small, observable behaviors. With time and consistency, these form the bedrock of our integrity. Integrity makes us worthy of followership. 

Truth

Races are either won or lost. One boat’s bow crosses the finish line first. Time is called and medals are awarded. We can fuss or complain - and it’s essential to contest corruption or rule violations - but ultimately, we’re left to either revel in victory or accept defeat. So it is at work and in life. You either win or you learn. Virtuous leaders possess a relentless commitment to seeking and receiving feedback. They dissect performance, whether excellent or poor, to understand what should be replicated and what needs improvement. They provide candid and compassionate feedback to their team. They demand ruthlessly honest feedback on their leadership and performance. The whole team knows where they stand, everyone learns together, and, over time, both individual and collective performance improve.

Excellence

Tiny shifts make giant impacts in a racing shell. Rowers must execute each stroke with precision, over and over again. A bit more power on one side of the boat can shift its course and add precious seconds to race time. If one rower raises or lowers their hands a fraction of an inch, the boat will dip to port or starboard. It is the job of the bow pair of rowers to correct for these inevitable variations, keeping the boat balanced and on course. 

While perfection is not a reasonable goal on or off the water, excellence is a worthy pursuit. Leaders assess the inherent potential of their team and hold high standards intended to fully deploy that potential and achieve the team’s mission. They inspire and require their teammates to pursue excellence. They aim for consistent high performance and have contingencies in place, like the bow pair, to correct for inevitable mistakes. 

Relationships

It’s difficult to identify the leader of a crew shell. We could argue that it’s the coxswain, the only one facing forward, who sets the course and steers. We might say it’s the stroke who sets the pace and style for all rowers behind to follow. Maybe it’s the coach, offering technical corrections and motivational words. Or Nature herself, whose conditions determine whether we can pursue swing without being tossed overboard.

The truth is that it’s all of us, together. 

Relationships are the conduit through which energy and power flow. Strong bonds and high levels of trust transform individuals into a cohesive team that can harness their collective power toward a shared goal At all levels and in every arena, leaders must possess the ability to build trusting and durable relationships. They must help their teams, families, and communities see that all of the problems worth solving and goals worth pursuing require us to work together. 

People long to be part of an E* team. We yearn to experience the fullness of our potential, to achieve great things, and to be part of something bigger than ourselves. Yet, swing is elusive. We can study and talk about it, but swing - the height of what we can achieve together - is only experienced in practice. It’s up to all of us to climb into the boat and commit ourselves fully to the kind of leadership that makes a team fly over the water and win. The type of leadership taught at SLG.

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Colleen Cruikshank was a Fellow in SLG’s Fall 2024 Annapolis cohort. She leads the Educators program at the Constructive Dialogue Institute, equipping people with the habits of heart and mind to bridge divides. Colleen graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a B.A. in Sociology and an informal minor in rowing.

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