Leadership lessons from the playground

When was the last time you were at a playground? If it has been a while, take a moment to visit one. In doing so, you will likely discover or be reminded of several essential leadership lessons that can propel you, your team or your business forward.

Before we delve into the lessons, let me establish a practical starting point. While sliding down a narrow, twisty slide or crossing the monkey bars may not be feasible at this stage in your life, a swing is a timeless option that typically ages well.

Find a swing set designed with solid, flat seats and sturdy chains to accommodate adults, sit down, hold on tight and try to move forward. After completing this brief activity, continue reading to compare your notes.

Despite the awkwardness of being an adult on a playground swing, were you able to move forward? If so, how did you achieve it and what did you learn from the experience?

Chances are you started swinging by doing some variation of a contradictory action: You pushed backward to go forward. At the same time, you might have noticed children who could not reach the ground and saw a trusted adult or friend pull them backward or push them forward to get them started.

The point is that sometimes, we can’t advance our position by thinking, talking or willing ourselves forward. Often, when we’re stopped or stuck, the best way to start moving again is to push back against the status quo, get pulled back up or nudged by someone we trust, or shift our priorities [weight] back to gain the momentum needed to move forward.

Once started again, we sustain our movement by continuously converting potential energy (peak of each movement) gained into kinetic energy (speed while swinging) produced. However, to reach new heights on a swing ― and as a leader of yourself, your people and your business ― breakthroughs occur when we reprioritize our efforts (shift our weight) at critical pivot points.

Like the forces of friction and gravity working against us on a swing, our competition, increasing business costs and other factors outside our control constantly threaten to slow our progress and take us down. When we stop pulling our weight or shifting our direction as needed, our momentum and growth begin to decline.

Are you starting to notice unwanted friction and the gravitational pull to slow you, your team or your business down? Instead of only looking forward or leaning into the problem, perhaps it’s time to shift your approach.

Try these tips to help regain your momentum:

• Lead yourself: Slow down to speed up. As you decelerate your pace and descend, reflect on your strengths and areas where you need help from others. Learn your top five CliftonStrengths from Gallup or complete an emotional intelligence assessment like the EIQ from Assessments24x7. Then, use the knowledge gained and lessons learned to accelerate your pace.
• Lead your team: Help others grow. Examine if your team’s legitimate needs are being met and look for opportunities to coach and develop them in their areas of strength. Again, consider Gallup’s CliftonStrengths to provide the language and insights needed to support your efforts. As a leader, your most significant gains will come only when you help others grow.
• Lead your business: Look outward, then focus inward. As you swing back and forth high above the ground, use this unimpeded view and perspective to see into the distance. Is your current direction aligned with your mission, vision, and values? Consider using the balanced scorecard concept to evaluate additional perspectives in your business and adjust as necessary.

I especially thank Dr. Christopher P. Meade, whose graduate school class assignment from long ago inspired the lesson from the swing I shared in this column. I also thank my son for helping me remember these lessons over the summer when we visited numerous playgrounds and spent time swinging together. I needed these reminders, and I hope they help propel you, your team, or your business forward, too.

Ben Quintana is a leadership adviser, professional speaker and an award-winning educator. He teaches MBA courses in leadership, business communication, and strategic human resources at Boise State University, where he received the 2024 Adjunct Faculty Member of the Year Award. He can be reached at [email protected].