Splashes and Waves

This weekend, many of us have been watching reports of the hurricane that ravaged Puerto Rico and monitoring its path. It made me reflect on a chapter in our Habitudes series, "The Art of Transformational Leadership," by Dr. Tim Elmore. Elmore describes leadership in terms of splashes and waves, and he offers a great analogy between the two.

Many of us are typically drawn to a charismatic personality – someone not afraid to stand up in front of a crowd, someone who challenges people, and, according to Dr. Elmore, who "creates the event." In time, events slowly fade in our memories and really don’t change us in any significant way. "They sizzle, and then they fizzle."

These leaders create splashes that are momentary; they quickly fade with time.

Dr. Elmore encourages us to be leaders who create waves instead of splashes. This type of leadership is reliable, focuses more on interacting with small groups, and slowly brings about an energy that evokes a magnificent wave through consistency and process. Leaders that make waves care more about the process than about themselves; they focus on helping to develop those around them, thus creating a movement that is unstoppable.

Harvard Business Review published an article years ago entitled, "Everyone Who Makes It Has a Mentor." The article revealed a study involving hundreds of CEOs across the country. The common thread in this study was that each of these successful leaders had a mentor.

Leaders who create waves spark a movement. We should evaluate a mentor by their own mentor. The investment of mentorship will not create a short-lived splash. Instead, it will result in a full-fledged wave.