How is Your Ballast?

For Boston, the connection to the sea is inseparable from its history. The early economy was largely dependent on the captains who sailed the ocean and the materials they brought on their return. On journeys that took months, ships would invariably hit rough seas. To counteract being tossed about in the ocean, ships were loaded with ballast – often heavy stones, that were added to the hull to create greater stability.

Today’s business challenges can feel like those rough seas. And, as leaders we may need to provide ourselves and our teams with some ballast so that we push into the waves without capsizing. We also need to be aware of when it’s time to reduce our ballast so that we can skim along at a faster clip.

Manage your ballast effectively by:

Knowing your true north. Where are you going? Where is the organization going? What is the alignment? Answers to these questions will center you and provide a sense of stability because you know who you are.

Reminding yourself that you are resilient. We’ve all faced strong winds and rough seas before. And here we are on the other shore. What skills, capabilities and attitudes helped you? Would they be helpful now? Most likely at least some of them are applicable in the current situation. Keep them on the ship.

Questioning your assumptions. We all make assumptions about how something will work or what will be effective. Those assumptions can be outdated and not valid, or even more important, valuable anymore. Push back on those assumptions. Question their value in current situations. Before you hold onto them, test that they are still valid. If not, get rid of them and replace them with insights and information that will allow you to move along with the waves rather than fight them.

Making sure it’s balanced. If ballast is not balanced, it’s very difficult to steer the ship. It can pull you too much in one direction or the other. Your ballast needs to help you stay on course but remain agile enough to change and adapt. When innovation and change are required, if all your ballast is keeping you aligned to how we do things now, you’ll soon be off course.

Right now, take a quick assessment of your personal ballast. Are you managing it or is it managing it or is it managing you?