I had a recent conversation where a gentleman asked me if I’d ever heard the analogy of the lighthouse and the tugboat.
The ocean does what it wants to and it doesn’t care about the beach, whether it’s rocky or sandy, whether there are lots of rocks jutting up from the surf as the waves make their way toward land, or if the sand runs out at a shallow depth for several hundred yards at low tide. At night, when ships are coming into port, they don’t have the luxury of knowing where the rocks are or where the sandbars are, where the passage is safe and where tragedy lies, which causes a lot of wrecks. It may cost lives as ships crash and sink while the cargo is lost.
Then they build a lighthouse that shows where the dangers are.
Even though the captains can see the lights of port, they can also see that this way leads to danger and insurmountable loss, while going the other way leads to safety. The lighthouse won’t clean up the wreckage; it’ll only show which way to go and how to avoid destruction.
The tugboat, by contrast, goes out to the ships. It rescues the crew. It may even salvage some of the cargo, then while bringing them all safely to port, the captain of the tug will point out where they went wrong, then they will point out what to look for in the variations of the sea and the surf, then they will show them how to safely navigate to port. At other times, the tugboat is going out to attach itself to the ship so it can guide and steer that vessel safely to port – and sometimes they’ll have to do that a few times.
“As a manager, I’m more of a lighthouse,” he told me. “Which one are you?”
“I’m the tugboat,” I said without hesitation. “I’ve always seen myself as a leader. And the tugboat is the ultimate definition of ‘leading by example.’ Whether they are guiding the ships safely to port or bringing the crew on board, it’s only beneficial when the other captains know how to properly navigate the sea to safely reach the port. That’s the type of “tugboat” I am. I want to make sure that those on my team know how to safely reach port the next time they are in a similar situation because that’s when the team wins.”
My father served our country during Vietnam in the Navy, and again later in the Army Reserve. He once told me that a manager never leads, and a leader will never manage. I agree with that.
Managers are bogged down with numbers, quotas, training, hiring, performance reviews, paperwork, meetings, and who knows what else. Leaders are any individual who inspires anyone else on the team to do what they are currently doing better than they are currently doing it. Or to achieve something deep inside of them that they never before thought was possible.
But here’s the magic part: anyone is capable of being a tugboat, just as anyone can become a lighthouse.
Regardless of where you are on your professional journey, go through this and see what methods speak to you.
Communication:
- Instruct your team
- Inspire your team
Goal Setting:
- Individual goals
- Together Everyone Accomplishes More
Problem Solving:
- Solve them directly
- There is no limit to what can be accomplished if it makes no difference who gets the credit
Learning:
- You’re the expert
- Learn from your team
Decision Making:
- You make decisions
- Team Collaboration
Focus:
- Micromanaging all details
- Empower your team because you taught them to manage the micro details (Thank you for this, Colin Cowherd)
Success:
- Individually
- The Team’s growth and performance
Motivation:
- Achieve your goals?
- Achieve your full potential?
Growth:
- Continually upward
- Like vines on a lattice
Look at what you chose. Those who chose more ones are managers (lighthouses), whereas the twos are leaders (tugboats).
Though there are some questions where good managers and leaders will see some overlap. These two in particular are from an article I read by Phillip Perry:
- Do you help employees rebound from performance shortfalls?
- Can you resolve conflicts in a productive way?
I think good leaders and good managers should be able to do both of these. Everyone will have performance shortfalls, and conflicts arise in the best of environments. There are some good quotes for these two questions that Mr. Perry uses, and I’ll defer to him and his sources for your perusal.
I’m grateful to be a tugboat that my colleagues can rely on to guide them and support them through the tumult of the occasional storm, where the lighthouse serves as the ever-present anchor, ensuring guidance and safety to all who need it. Together, they are indispensable to the ships they serve.
Bottom Line: Serve others in kindness as a tugboat, letting those who serve as a lighthouse be the guiding force for everyone.
