Be the Calm or Be the Storm: Leadership Lessons from a Woman at the Helm

by Sandy Yawn

Invest in others.

By helping others to grow I help to grow myself, my business, and my industry.

Find the balance between the resume and the person.

Attitude is everything. You can boast all the credentials in the world, but if you allow anxiety, anger, or fear to take over, you can bring down the whole team.

Give a turn at the wheel. You can’t teach leadership unless you’re willing to give up some control. Entrust them with something above their pay grade so that they can develop an understanding of what they need to do to master the skill.

Be brave and allow your wit, resourcefulness, and humor to rise to the surface and earn the win.

you must lean in to any problem you come up against, reminding everyone why it matters, and encouraging your people to work that knot!

It’s how we show up in moments when it goes south that matters most. It’s during the worst of times that you get to choose if you want to character-build and become that person who can maintain calm in the middle of chaos.

When the people I am leading and serving feel cared for, respected, and understood, I get the best out of them. With obstacles moved out of their way and problems resolved with minimal fuss, they can perform as their best selves.

Navigation is all about shifting and adapting to life’s changing circumstances. When you chart your course, you must be prepared to make certain adjustments,

staying alert, making good decisions, and leading your crew through to the other side of a storm requires a level of calm and perspective that comes with experience.

Don’t panic; persist. When faced with a Gordian knot of a problem, you need to think clearly and keep the faith that you’ll come up with a solution. It takes resolve, energy, and focus to solve a problem.

Work every angle. With a never-say-die attitude, no obstacle is insurmountable.

Remember to crack a joke or two.

need assistance, not resistance!” Don’t accept negativity. Giving up on that knot is never an option.

Serve those you are leading.

Prepare to pivot.

Get creative. But know your parameters. There are plenty of unconventional ways to come at a problem, but don’t overlook the obvious solutions first.

The more diverse minds you have access to, the better. Great servant leaders understand they can’t do it alone.

Work with what, or who, you’ve got.

Don’t dictate, hover, or stand in the way. Be at their service, staying quietly in the background, observing closely and unobtrusively before stepping in at exactly the right time.

When someone makes a mistake, they usually know it, and an over-the-top reaction from me can be a distraction. It can cause resentment, diverting someone’s attention away from their own actions and accountability. It can provide them with an excuse to see themselves as victim instead of addressing the behavior that needs to change.

Be firm but fair. Reprimand in the form of constructive criticism.

Earn trust. Help them believe you will have their backs and give them all the support they need to perform at their highest level.

Give chances, within reason.

Leverage teachable moments. Help the people under your charge to grow and get better by addressing the issue head on, in real time, showing them how you expect the task to be done. Give them the information, cheat sheets, and tools.

Choose character over skills.

Incentivize, financially or through some other type of award, to encourage them to meet a challenge or solve a problem.

Think liability, not personality. As much as you might like your subordinates, don’t lose sight of what you are trying to accomplish. If they undermine the mission or compromise safety and assets, it’s time to be a leader and say good-bye.

Quietly monitor gaps in performance, tracking to see if they are one-offs (we all make mistakes) or a pattern, then step in to address these slips before they’re noticed by clients or customers.

Be the buffer. The buck stops with you, and when a client is dissatisfied, you need to stand up and take the full brunt.

Show them how to show up. Demonstrate to the next generation of leaders how to show up through your own actions. If you see something that needs to be done, lead by example and have the humility to get down on your knees and do it,

Serve from the heart.

Maintain your engine.

Check in with yourself. Don’t empty that tank to the point where you are causing engine damage. Pay attention to the subtle signs, then fine tune, and balance.

Squeeze in the self-care.

Banish negativity.

Team building is an art. It doesn’t just happen. When individuals get along and work well together, it’s a reflection of great leadership. Specifically, it’s a result of leading with empathy, figuring out who your teammates are and what motivates them, making them understand and feel understood.

That said, leadership is knowing how to bring people along, communicating in a way that inspires them to trust your decision-making, not question it. You cannot execute a vision or complete a mission when you don’t have people to follow through.

If you don’t know a profession and you are told something can’t be done, don’t insist. Ask why it can’t be done. Have some humility.

Communicate clearly and often to figure out who your teammates are and what motivates them. Ask yourself: What are their strengths? How can I leverage their different personalities and preferences for the betterment of the whole?

Operate as one. A true team can accomplish so much more than individuals acting on their own.

Realize that body language is an actual language. Be mindful of how you communicate visually and don’t allow a situation to become more vocal than necessary.

It’s not for them to question why. As leader, it’s your role to do the meta-analysis and direct your crew accordingly, but they don’t always have to understand exactly why you are giving them certain instructions.

Know the line between necessary det...

Bring them along. Communicate in a way that inspires them to trust your decision-making. You cannot execute a vision or complete a mission when you don’t have people to follow through.

Excellence in servant leadership begins with taking a beat and making things right within yourself first.

Be bold enough to take the first step, flexible enough to alter your course according to life’s circumstances, and persistent enough to muscle your way through.

My experiences at sea have taught me that setbacks and challenges, whether on water or land, dealing with death, illness, failure, or losses of any kind, are not necessarily within my control. I can’t take that wave. But I can navigate my vessel to come out the other side with the least damage.

That series of unfortunate events may be God’s way of putting you back on His path, which is the one you were meant to be on. Even the worst storms could be teaching you and positioning you for what’s next.