It’s a lovely sunny March afternoon, you’re sitting having lunch beside the River Thames hoping for a glimpse of a boat or two. And not any old boat, but one from Oxford or Cambridge, because today one of the UK’s most popular sporting events takes place.
This annual spectacle has taken place since 1829, is watched by 270,000 on the banks of the river and by 15 million on television and it lasts mere minutes.
You can feel the anticipation of the crowds around you as the boats come into view, watching them glide swiftly past you, feeling the excitement they leave in their wake.
Whether you are a boat race fan or not, such moments are always special. The crowd cheering from the banks makes it special, the sight of boats carving through the water makes it special and young men on board giving their all to power those boats through down the river makes it special. Even as a spectator, you’re taking an active part in this event.
And it’s amazing to contemplate the amount of training, cooperation and stamina needed to participate in such a tradition. It’s been worked out that every stroke of an oar requires 2 hours of training!
The cox and the rowers have much to do in preparation for the 6.8km race. Six months is set aside for a rigorous regime of training, often two sessions a day, seven days a week to build their physical strength, their teamwork and their stamina as they attempt to beat their university rivals. All this as well as being a student!
Their strong sense of identity as blues together with a honed competiveness and clear desire to win the race drives each team to seek victory.
The cox leads from the front of the boat, where he can face his crew, motivating and co-ordinating the teams’ movements. His focus, for his team to ‘pull together’, to glide through the water with speed.
His reward for victory?
Getting dunked into the Thames by the team he led after receiving the trophy.
All this started when a Cambridge student, Charles Merivale challenged his friend, Charles Wordsworth, who was at Oxford to a race on a river, way back in 1829!
After enjoying the amazing sporting spectacle, the atmosphere of the event and a lovely weekend by the Thames, you’re going to go back to your work and take a look at your own leadership skills. Compare them to that of the cox. We know you’re not in a boat race but many leadership priorities are the same:
Do your crew know what race they’re in?
Do they know what they need to do to win the trophy?
Have you fed their hunger to win the race they‘re in?
Do they each train regularly with their other crew members to build relationships, strength, stamina and trust?
Are you there, facing them, supporting, encouraging and motivating them?
Would people in your industry line up to watch you and your team perform?
Building businesses can be just like the boat race. Each needs clearly defined aims and everyone needs to know where they are going. Both need to be able to measure success developing the right people, supporting the team along the way so that you all improve to win.
Regardless of the race we are competing in, it’s about pulling together in the one direction. Is your team strong enough to win your race? Are you a strong enough leader to craft a team that is good enough?
Whether it’s a boat race or a business, we need to build a team strong enough to overcome the hazards and obstacles with stamina to cross the finish line ahead of the competition.
Let’s All Pull Together
It’s a lovely sunny March afternoon, you’re sitting having lunch beside the River Thames hoping for a glimpse of a boat or two. And not any old boat, but one from Oxford or Cambridge, because today one of the UK’s most popular sporting events takes place.
This annual spectacle has taken place since 1829, is watched by 270,000 on the banks of the river and by 15 million on television and it lasts mere minutes.
You can feel the anticipation of the crowds around you as the boats come into view, watching them glide swiftly past you, feeling the excitement they leave in their wake.
Whether you are a boat race fan or not, such moments are always special. The crowd cheering from the banks makes it special, the sight of boats carving through the water makes it special and young men on board giving their all to power those boats through down the river makes it special. Even as a spectator, you’re taking an active part in this event.
And it’s amazing to contemplate the amount of training, cooperation and stamina needed to participate in such a tradition. It’s been worked out that every stroke of an oar requires 2 hours of training!
The cox and the rowers have much to do in preparation for the 6.8km race. Six months is set aside for a rigorous regime of training, often two sessions a day, seven days a week to build their physical strength, their teamwork and their stamina as they attempt to beat their university rivals. All this as well as being a student!
Their strong sense of identity as blues together with a honed competiveness and clear desire to win the race drives each team to seek victory.
The cox leads from the front of the boat, where he can face his crew, motivating and co-ordinating the teams’ movements. His focus, for his team to ‘pull together’, to glide through the water with speed.
His reward for victory?
Getting dunked into the Thames by the team he led after receiving the trophy.
All this started when a Cambridge student, Charles Merivale challenged his friend, Charles Wordsworth, who was at Oxford to a race on a river, way back in 1829!
After enjoying the amazing sporting spectacle, the atmosphere of the event and a lovely weekend by the Thames, you’re going to go back to your work and take a look at your own leadership skills. Compare them to that of the cox. We know you’re not in a boat race but many leadership priorities are the same:
Building businesses can be just like the boat race. Each needs clearly defined aims and everyone needs to know where they are going. Both need to be able to measure success developing the right people, supporting the team along the way so that you all improve to win.
Regardless of the race we are competing in, it’s about pulling together in the one direction. Is your team strong enough to win your race? Are you a strong enough leader to craft a team that is good enough?
Whether it’s a boat race or a business, we need to build a team strong enough to overcome the hazards and obstacles with stamina to cross the finish line ahead of the competition.
How do we do that?
Like the students, let’s all pull together.
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