I was listening to the radio the other day and this came up in a pause for thought, and the analogy really got me thinking about business team. Now i do a bit of road cycling and the impact of a headwind is enormous, even the smallest headwind can make you feel like you’ve hit a wall, but if you’re out with a team they can really help. If one of the team who’s feeling a little fresher can ride in front of you it reduces the impact by about 30%, sitting just behind them and riding within their slipstream.

It is the reason you see the peloton in the Tour De France always shifting the front riders, riding behind and not in a line across the road. They can often real in a lone breakaway rider with new cyclists leading the chase and drawing the peloton back in. In fact if you look closely you’ll often see those further back almost free wheeling while those in the front are peddling hard.

In any business the team will always have a mix of performances, some will be…

surfing, they are on fire, unstoppable, full of energy and leading the way,

some will be swimming, doing ok, doing whats required, steadily making a difference

some are sinking, just starting to show signs of fatigue, struggling a little and not getting done whats required and…

some are drowning, underperforming, stressed, not hitting the numbers, not acheivign the deadlines, something has potentially changed and they are feeling the heat.

This is when leadership truly comes into its own. This is when empathy and emotional intelligence make a huge difference.

Whats wrong?, whats changed?, how can I help you?…  are we supportive or adding even more pressure. Could we be the slipstream, could we be the lead rider, they could be a surfer soon, just not at this moment.

So the next time you see a team member struggling, sinking or drowning, ask yourself, can I be a slipstream for them or am i being a headwind.