3 Things Leaders Can Learn "From My Octopus Teacher"
Written by: Michelle Schafer, Senior Level Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Last week, I watched a documentary that will stay with me for a long, long time. The Oscar-winning "My Octopus Teacher" is an incredibly moving story about filmmaker Craig Foster who befriends an octopus and their evolving relationship over the course of a year. It's set in the spectacular Western Cape of South Africa and explores powerful interactions between humans and nature.
The story begins from a place of stress, anxiety and overwhelm – Craig recognizes after working incredibly hard that he was burned out and his relationships were strained. His life needed a sharp pivot to recover. As a child, he loved the water and enjoyed exploring the mysterious underwater world. So he returned to what he loved. As much as the film was about nature (he shares incredible facts about the octopus), taking a pause in life, and reconnecting to things you love, there were several lessons for leaders in there.
1 - Trust takes a long time to build and can be lost in a second.
Craig ventures into the water every day and gets familiar with the octopus' habits. Over time, he builds so much trust with her that she makes physical contact with him. But one day he drops his camera startles the octopus and she swims away. He's not sure she will trust him again. With teams, trust is like a bank account – some activities and behaviours build trust (like deposits to the account) and some things act as withdrawals to this account.
2 - Resist the urge to "jump in" and solve the problem.
When the octopus is attacked by a shark, Craig is so overcome for her wellbeing that he decides to shell some oysters and leave them for her in her den so she could have some food. He realizes in hindsight that this action did nothing to help, and he was getting in nature's way. This is an important lesson for leaders - as much as solving the problem may seem like "helping," it limits the team's ability to bring forward their solutions and ideas, which in turn limits creativity and innovation.
3 - Be proud in the face of adversity
Craig's heart was bursting with pride for the octopus, as she had to deal with several challenges as the story unfolds. As your team works through issues and roadblocks together, be aware of their experience, and recognize their efforts in the face of these challenges – even when (and especially when) those efforts produce a different result than you were anticipating. I dare you to watch it and not cry. There is more emotion packed in this film than you can imagine. Truly beautiful – and so much for us to learn on many levels. If you've seen it, I'd love to hear your perspective below.
Michelle Schafer, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Michelle Schafer is an International Coaching Federation Certified Coach and Facilitator specializing in career transition and leadership. She is the owner and founder of Michelle Schafer Coaching, empowering people to achieve career fulfillment. Michelle has personally experienced two significant career transitions through restructuring and has reinvented herself for new careers both times. She deeply understands the physical, emotional and mental impact associated with a job search. Michelle is passionate about people and inspired by their progress, working with clients at all levels of an organization and across sectors including federal and municipal government, high tech, not-for-profit and financial services. Michelle offers coaching 1:1 in groups and recently was certified in the foundations of team coaching with the Global Team Coaching Institute.
