Thoughts on Leadership: An Ostrich's Tale

Leaders inspire, motivate, and sometimes avoid problems – just like Betty the ostrich! Explore leadership uniquely with Ed Drozda, on the latest episode of The Water Trough. What can an ostrich teach you? #LeadershipInsights 

Episode Transcript

(00:10):
Welcome to The Water Trough,where we can't make you drink,
but we will make you think.
My name is Ed Drost of The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've always wanted.

(00:43):
Welcome back to The WaterTrough.
This is Ed Drost of The SmallBusiness Doctor, and today we're
going to talk about leaders andostriches.

Microphone (Yeti Stereo M (00:49):
Let's begin with the ostriches.
If you ever find yourself inLoxahatchee, Florida, on
Florida's east coast, Irecommend you go to a place
called Lion Country Safari.
If you haven't been there, thenyou might find the story rather
interesting.
And if you have been there,you'll know exactly what I'm
talking about.
One of the big attractions ofLion Country Safari is that you

(01:13):
drive through the park andobserve the animals in there.
natural habitat.
And as you exit the park, you'llfind yourself going over a
couple of rollers on the ground.
Those of you that are familiarwith parks like this will know
what that's all about.
It's so that the hooved animalscannot escape.

(01:34):
They can't get back out.
That way they can leave the gateopen.
So you can leave As you wish,and your little furry friends
won't follow behind you.
Well, for those that have beenthere, you've probably met
Betty.
Betty is an ostrich.
Now, Betty is not your typicalostrich.
You see, the thing about Bettyis, she hangs out at the end of

(01:55):
the drive through Lion CountrySafari.
And, as you approach thoserollers on the ground, She
stands there to greet virtuallyevery car that exits the park.
She stands in front of the car,and then she walks around the
car, pecking on the window, ifthere's somebody on the opposite

(02:16):
side.
Seems like she's checkingeverybody out, wants to know
what you are doing, who's inthat car, what's going on.
It's like she's saying goodbyeand thanks for coming to visit.

Microphone (Yeti Stereo Mi (02:27):
I've been there multiple times, and
every time that I've gone,Betty's waiting there to see us.
In fact, on one occasion, wewere behind as many as ten cars
waiting to exit the park, eachof them, in their turn, being
stopped and subjected to thereview by Betty.

Microphone (Yeti Stereo (02:42):
Perhaps you're aware of the myth that
says that ostriches stick theirhead in the sand when they're
frightened.
we know this is not true.
If you ever do see an ostrichwith their head in the sand,
chances are that they aredigging a nest in which to put
eggs, but they don't stick theirheads in the sand.
That's not ostrich behavior.
But I did think that therelationship between some

(03:04):
leaders and their tendency totry to bury their heads to shy
away from the problems thatexist was a story worth talking
about.
the story about Betty was agreat way to kick it off,
because, honestly, what could bemore fun than going to a safari
park and having a closeencounter?

(03:28):
with a seven foot tall ostrich.
It really is quite cool.
you've got to see it to believeit.
So before we start talking aboutleaders with their head in the
sand, let's talk about leadersin general.
Who are they?
And what are they all about?
Certainly we know that leadersare the sorts of folks that
inspire passion and motivationin others.

(03:51):
They are the folks that have thevision, and they have a sense of
how to get to the end point, tothe goal.
Leaders are all around us.
They can be in our classroom.
They can be in our organization.
They can be in politicalparties.

(04:11):
They can be just about anywhere.
Leaders are the sorts of peoplethat we tend to look up to.
Now let's face it, if you aretold that somebody is a leader,
your initial impression is,that's pretty cool.
They sound like charismaticpeople, they have the ability to
inspire the masses, to getpeople rallied behind an idea,

(04:34):
and to pursue it together.
Leaders sound like really,really great people.
Rest assured, leaders, or theidea of being a leader, really
is kind of cool.
But don't forget, leaders arefirst people.
We don't arrive in the role ofleader at the time of our birth.

(04:59):
Leadership is something that weGrow into something that evolves
and something that we becomeover the course of time
experience and opportunity.
And so because leaders have thesame limitations, the same sorts
of constraints that all peopledo, it's to be expected.

(05:25):
There are going to be occasionswhen they are going to Do things
that will not exactly be leaderlike, and one of these is the
idea of sticking one's head inthe sand, that is, of trying to
avoid problems.
My point is this.

(05:45):
Leaders are simply human.
We cannot put them on a pedestaland expect them to be something
that they are not.
Yes, they have the ability toinspire passion and motivation
in people.
Yes, they may have vision and anidea of how to get to a place

(06:05):
that many of us don't.
Therefore, those of us that arein a position to follow the
leader, those of us that look upto the leaders, expecting of
them amazing and great things,have to give them credit for the
fact that they too havedifficulty in getting things
done, that they too Are like usdealing with the various

(06:29):
ramifications of life as it is.
Why is it important that werecognize that the leaders are
like us, that they're human,that they have their faults,
their weaknesses, and so on andso forth?
Well, this is what it comes downto.
Leaders do not get things donethemselves.
It's through their ability tomotivate, to inspire others.

(06:52):
It's through their ability tosee things that others don't
see.
that we have the opportunity toaccomplish amazing things.
A leader serves his or her role,and it's the rest of us working
with the leader that brings thatrole, the purpose of it, to

(07:13):
fruition.
So you see, the leader is not astand alone entity.
The leader is the one that welook to for answers.
But the reality is the leader'slooking to us for answers as
well.
And we can't lose sight of thatin the business world, for
example, leadership is importantto create a strategic plan, a

(07:40):
vision of where a company isgoing, what we're looking to
accomplish the leader.
is going to convey thisinformation through a variety of
tools and methods to the peoplewho will actually get the work
done.
if that message is not deliveredappropriately, and more
importantly, if that message isnot heard or understood, then no

(08:04):
matter how good a leader is,There's absolutely no worthy
outcome that will result.
The big takeaway from thisconversation for me is that we
appreciate leaders for who theyare, that they are like the rest
of us, simply human and that wedo not put them in a

(08:24):
substantially superior position,but rather that we work with
them to accomplish the goalsPerhaps to get to the places
that we ourselves do not see.
Okay, so ostriches and leadersaren't quite the same.
Leaders might, avoid problems,but they do not stick their
heads in the sand.
And we know that when an ostrichdoes stick its head in the sand,

(08:46):
it's digging holes for eggs.
But there is one last thing I'dlike to point out about Betty,
her behavior and how she'sactually demonstrating a
leadership skill of her own.
What she's done here, stoppingcars, looking into the cars,
checking things out.
She's demonstrating curiosityand curiosity is something
critical in the role of theleader.

(09:10):
A leader finds opportunity bylooking at what exists and
asking what else could be.
I think this is a fairdefinition of curiosity, not
simply content to take thestatus quo, but looking beyond
that, Betty reminds us asleaders or otherwise, that being

(09:30):
curious allows us to learn more,to understand things better and
to grow and evolve.

Microphone (Yeti Stereo M (09:39):
Until next time, this is Ed Drozda,
the small business doctor hereat The Water Trough.
I want to wish you a healthybusiness.