Low-Key Leadership

This past weekend I attended an excellent workshop called Muscle Function, Biomechanics and Exercise Creation for the Trunk and Spine at Quanta Performance in Montreal.  I was extremely pleased with the content and the delivery of the course, and I'm excited about applying it to my work with clients.  But the best course material in the world will not impress the participants if the "delivery system" (the teacher) is not up to the task. 

I was sincerely impressed with the instructor of this course, Dev Chaterjee.  You likely haven't heard of him, which is a shame.  And I think it is probably only a matter of time before people in the mainstream of wellness and performance DO start hearing about him.  His depth of knowledge was evident during the course.  It was also evident that he is surfing the breaking waves of innovation in his field.

But again, someone can be very bright and very current without being a good teacher and presenter.  On my drive home I had time to reflect on a lot of things (and believe me, this course left me with a lot of information to digest).  At any rate, one of the targets of my wondering thoughts on the drive back to Quebec City turned to just what had impressed me so much about Dev and his methods.  And then it dawned  on me, his most impressive demonstration of knowledge was his ability to admit that he did not know an answer but to set about finding one.

In that moment of clarity it became evident to me that credibility is not solely dependent on how much you know but also on how much you search.  Yes, you need that solid base of knowledge beneath you in order to present the content you are presenting, but beyond that it shows much more leadership, credibility and confidence when you are willing to say, "I don't know, let's look it up" or "let's figure it out."  When you can say that with confidence, I think it is a sign that you really are a dexterous wielder of your craft.  On the other hand, a pretender will pretend to know the answer or to have all the answers.

I think the takeaway message is that as a teacher, coach, trainer, mother, father, mentor, boss or whatever leadership role you may play in life, continually learn as much as you can, stay current, be the best you can be, but make sure you readily accept that you cannot know everything.  And commit to finding the answers that you don't have when you need them.