Thoughts on Leadership
A few days into our adaptation of Bike to Work week and we have pierced the heart of the Cariboo. The late Summer weather has passed into crisp fall mornings and looming clouds and light showers. Good time to pull down the visor and headband.
A helmet is a dangerous place for ones head. I suppose it could be argued as the safest, most dangerous place. With the ceaseless wind and vibration all around, one mind is assured to wander at times. I think inside the helmet. Unlike a box, it offers a relatively clear view as to what lies ahead. A good rider (I’m working on it…) rides with a nearly stereoscopic style, one focus at the extent of your vision and a second within close enough proximity to allow for last minute deviations from the path, a rutted section of gravel, erratic rock, standing water etc.
Today I was caught out by a lapse in this attention. On an active haul road along the Cariboo River near Ghost Lake in rainy conditions more akin to Spring breakup than fall conditions (blame high timber prices and a frenzied pre-winter logging pace) I hit a deeply rutted section of mud/gravel goo and got my front and rear wheels crossed in tandem ruts. Dumping gears as fast as possible, a manic amount of counter steering and sheer good luck landed me still upright and stalled with adrenal glands at full release.
Leadership is a necessary obligation. On this trip, leadership is shared between partners. The concentration and focus from riding in the aforementioned style is fatiguing. Not one out of the three of us is capable of maintaining the required intensity for eight to ten hours per day, but each of us is capable of at least our quota.
And so I swapped positions. Kevin assumed the lead, and I was afforded the opportunity to follow a track and speed check a pace being set by someone else. It was a welcome relief. It gave me head space to contemplate leadership.
I was a bit unnerved when, before departure, Michel and I had taken a moment to check the NDP website online to find about local candidates and were met with more of a personal bio “About John”.
The concept of leadership has been hijacked, (I witness it with my son’s in popular cartoons), by the idea that there are prodigal leaders in our midst. These “chosen ones” most often virtue signal to us but have additional superior powers not granted to mere mortals. Words like “husband”, "father”, “former mill worker” and “cancer survivor” apply to many thousands of British Columbians. My concern only deepened when, as I discussed the election with good family friends in Horsefly, I was made aware that the NDP candidate for their region was Scott Andrews, a resident of Victoria! With a leader so strong, and a party nearly indistinguishable from him, who needs a local representative?
Robin… I mean, Scott only need be positioned nearest the Batcave (Legislature) and willing at a moments notice to heed Batmans… I mean, John’s signal.
This is dysfunctional. Our participatory democracy requires the two necessary components. Participation and… Democracy. I will save the Democracy chat for a later post but lets focus on Participation. When an entire electoral area, allegedly offers up a candidate who's worked a few summers in the region and last ran as a Federal MP in Vancouver Quadra, it feels more like an area bequeathed a young princeling than an area granted authentic participation.
Life in the helmet has been fun so far. With Kevin, a Competent Leader AND Local, at the front of our small tribe at the moment, We know we are in good hands. In the ride of life, sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow. It’s never wise to expect a leader to pull off super-human accomplishments day in and day out, tap your helmet when it is safe to pass and assume the obligation.
Your time at the helm too, shall pass. Ride On.
Ryan (rjgisler@hotmail.com)
