Posts Tagged ‘9/11’
3 Things Resilient Leaders Do September 12 2011 7 responses
Watching the ceremonies on TV yesterday, I was struck by the beauty of the 9/11 memorial in New York. It’s a park built around the footprints of the World Trade Center towers and waterfalls flow into the footprints. Looking at the memorial, I was reminded of the first time I saw Ground Zero after the attacks. I had worked on Wall Street a block and a half from the WTC in the late 1980’s so I knew the area pretty well prior to the attacks. The Trade Center had been my subway stop in those days.
My first trip there after 9/11 was in the Fall of 2005. I had a client in the Wall Street area and flew from Dulles to Newark on an early morning flight and eventually caught the PATH train to go underneath the Hudson and into lower Manhattan. What I hadn’t realized when I booked the arrangements was that the PATH train station was at Ground Zero. As the train came out and up from under the river, it emerged into the foundation where one of the Towers had stood. My first view of the site was literally from the inside out. The view out the window was so unexpected, that it literally took my breath away. It almost overwhelmed me. I started looking around the train to see if anyone else was having a similar reaction.
No one was. It took me a few moments to realize why. These people who were on the train, reading their newspapers or listening to their music, were on another daily commute to their jobs. They took this trip everyday of the week. A lot of them had probably made the same trip prior to 9/11 and now, a few years later, they were back to doing what they do.
It hit me then how resilient human beings can be. I’ve thought a lot about that since then and have, in observing my own life and the lives of others, identified what I think are three characteristics of the kind of people who bounce back. Whether they’re bouncing back from a world changing tragedy or a common disappointment, here are some of the things I’ve noticed about resilient people and resilient leaders:
What It Takes to Be Ready September 9 2011 no responses
There are a lot of memories coming to the surface as the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches. Of course, some of the most vivid memories are of the first responders who showed so much courage and skill in the minutes, hours and days after the attacks. Even though they had never dealt with such a situation at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon, they were ready to respond and saved lives in the process.
Last month, I got to spend a weekend with a ship full of 80 people like that when I was onboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Venturous. In the past couple of weeks on this blog, I’ve shared What I Learned on a Coast Guard Cutter and 3 Things The Coast Guard Does to Prepare for Emergencies. Today, I want to focus in one member of the Venturous crew that I spent a lot of time with – Main Propulsion Assistant Jim O’Brien. Jim is from Boston and is a 28 year veteran of the Coast Guard. He knows every inch of his ship and spent a good bit of time showing me what goes on below decks.
When you hang out with Jim O’Brien, you see a guy who loves and takes a great deal of pride in what he does. As you watch the short video that comes with this post, you’ll see Jim searching every nook and cranny of the ship with his flashlight looking for water or other fluids that might be early indicators of trouble. You’ll see how easily he can explain every system and function on the ship. You’ll see how he teaches his crew to pay attention to the details in the way that he does. (By the way, you might want to wear some hearing protection for the first minute or so of the video. It’s pretty loud in the cutter’s engine room.)
It’s people with the experience, passion and dedication of Jim O’Brien who get our first responders ready to protect and help the rest of us. He’s a leader in every sense of the word. He knows his stuff. He shares what he knows. He’s dedicated. He cares about his people. He teaches his people. He gives a damn in every respect. Thank goodness we have leaders like Jim.
Scott Eblin is an executive coach, speaker and author of 
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