Several years ago I was in Venice, Italy working on a project for a client. I got up early on Monday, took the water taxi to the mainland and was met by a rep from the manufacturing facility. I climbed into the passenger side of his BMW 5 series and we headed off to the factory. Within a few seconds we were traveling at a pretty good clip. I leaned over to get a peek at the speedometer and the needle was at 180 km/h, roughly 110 mph!

Now, we were not on the Autobahn, we were not on a freeway. We were on a narrow, tree lined, somewhat paved road in rural Italy! There wasn’t even a yellow line down the middle! We eventually topped out at a “comfortable” cruising speed of 130 mph. After 15 minutes I slowly released my death grip on the door handle, mostly because of cramping in my arm. Thirty minutes in it felt like nothing more than a relaxing ride through the beautiful Italian countryside. As we walked into the factory I queried my hasty chauffeur, “So, what’s the speed limit here?” His reply? “How ever fast you’re comfortable driving.”

As I reflected on the experience I wondered what it was that caused my stress and anxiety? Was it the speed? Was it my lack of control? Was it my immediate need for more absorbent undergarments?

The speed limits where I’m from range between 30 and 70 mph and most drivers are comfortable at those speeds. I drive 70 on the freeway, no big deal, that’s the posted limit. However, if I drive 70 in a 30… its whole different story. Why? I’m perfectly capable of driving 70 and have no trouble controlling the car at that speed. It’s because of an external limit determined and enforced by others. What made me uncomfortable in Italy was the fact that my environment had conditioned me to believe (at a physiological level) that going 130 was wrong! The resulting response was fear. It was not fear of the speed, it was fear of the speed limit! First thought: “If we get caught going this fast….”. Second thought: “Oh wait, we can go as fast as we want.” And the fear was gone!

A few years later I started racing autocross and ran into my own internal speed limit. Even though I was on a closed course with no posted speed limit it took me the better part of a day to actually “feel” comfortable driving over 100 mph. Now I’ve become so comfortable at high speed it’s a struggle to drive at the posted limit!

Leadership means being very aware of your personal speed limits. Many times I know what I need to do and where we need to go but I hesitate or I go too slow. Not because of some external enforcement but my own self-imposed “restrictions” aka: FEAR!

• Fear of failure
• Fear of the unknown
• Fear of what other might think or do
• Fear of getting in trouble!

The result? Lack of forward progress, loss of momentum and a frustrated team.

Don’t forget about the passengers!

When we are trying to move a relationship, a team or an organization forward we’ve got to be keenly aware of the cultural speed limits; “We don’t do things this way.”

As we introduce change it must be done in such a way as to not have the entire organization hanging onto the door handle waiting for the sound of skidding tires, exploding airbags and rescue vehicles.

We are in the driver’s seat; they are passengers. We can feel the road, the tires, the steering wheel. We’re fully engaged and in control of the experience. They are scared to death!

4 ways to alleviate passenger anxiety

• Tell them where you’re headed
• Gradually get them up to speed
• Communicate constantly
• Encourage them all the way through the process

In time, their internal limits will be exceeded but they will be much more (though not entirely) relaxed than if you just put the pedal to the metal and tell them to hold on.

A driving coach once said to me, “This car is capable of far more than you are.” OUCH! Your team, your ministry, your company your organization, is capable of amazing things but it’s up to you to lead them there. The speed at which you move forward is on you. Let go of your fear and LEAD FASTER!

If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough. Mario Andretti

Whatever your “vehicle” is, take it out on the track and push it to the limit. And then push it a little more! Do whatever it takes to hone your skills as a leader, remove the fear and the limitations, real or imagined, within your team and you will accelerate your vision!

Lead Faster!

Jon Wright