Are You an Ostrich or a Giraffe?

Part 1: Leadership
In 2007 I had the great joy of taking a 'once in a lifetime' trip to Africa. Then came the "Great Recession" (officially starting Dec. 2007 and ending June 2009) with a new normal. I couldn't help but notice two distinct leadership strategies being played out - the Ostrich and the Giraffe. I created this analogy from my inspiration of Africa and my passion for creating strong leaders. What follows is the first of a short series which I will post over the next couple of weeks. Here's to your safari into Africa..and yourself as a leader.

Into Africa

It had always been a dream of mine to travel to Africa and, in April of that year, I made that dream come true. My fellow travelers and I were privileged to spend 21 days on the continent, including seven full days on safari observing animals of all shapes and sizes in their natural habitat.

I was enthralled by everything I saw, but two animals made the greatest impact: the ostrich and the giraffe. I was initially fascinated by a couple of things in particular:

1. Our tour guide’s debunking of the myth about ostriches burying their heads in the sand — they actually don’t, and
2. The sheer size and strength of the giraffe — our planet’s tallest land animal.

As we were educated on how these beautiful animals deal with fear and the unknown, I became even more enthralled.

Although it’s a myth that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when frightened, the truth is that they lie down — as flat as they can — hoping that whatever is coming will pass by. Giraffes, on the other hand, do the opposite: They stretch their necks out further, observe their surroundings carefully and prepare for either fight (their kick can kill a lion) or flight (they can run at speeds up to 32 miles per hour).

In other words, giraffes are proactive. That doesn’t mean they aren’t scared; it just means they know that, in order to survive, they need to look ahead and assess what alternatives are available.

2009/10: The year of the ostrich

Which brings us to 2009/10 — a year of “perceived danger.” One of hunkering down because we all heard that something was coming, or we saw another company or industry struggling, and we assumed we were as well.

As a result, many business owners began to lie down, like ostriches, and wait for the danger to pass. Pretty soon, a fair number of these executives were frozen, stuck, doing things such as:

• Laying off workers,
• Desperately seeking sales, and
• Not thinking about how to stretch their necks in new directions to find a way out of the harsh reality we were all facing.

Yet leadership isn’t about lying down. It’s about being present, calculating risk and knowing when to stay put and fight and when to head in another direction. Leadership is about knowing what others are doing and choosing to either start a new trend or follow a better path. For example, despite the economy, there were quite a few organizations that chose to not lie down and, as a result, they had one of their best years ever in 2010.

If you're intrigued, check back... my next post will be: 5 ways to bring out your inner giraffe