Leadership and the Sinking of the El Faro
On October 1, 2015, the El Faro cargo ship was fighting for it’s life on the Atlantic Ocean in the middle of Hurricane Joaquin. Here is her story:
At 8:10 pm on September 29, 2015, El Faro left Jacksonville, Florida. She was headed for San Juan, Puerto Rico with a load of 391 shipping containers, about 294 trailers and cars, and a crew of 33 people. Hurricane Joaquin was still a tropical storm when El Faro departed, yet National Hurricane Center meteorologists predicted it would become a hurricane by the morning of October 1.
Sure enough, On October 1, 2015, Joaquin was a category 3 hurricane. Despite the efforts of the captain and crew member, the El Faro broke down, losing its power which, in turn, made it susceptible to the brutality of the storm and the raging sea. Eventually, the El Faro succumbed to being tossed around and eventually broke apart casting its cargo and 33 crew members into the Atlantic Ocean. The cargo was lost and all 33 crew members perished.
The story of the El Faro reminds us as leaders that we MUST make sure we are fueling ourselves personally AND professionally. The storms of life and leadership are always just around the corner and if do not have the proper amount of fuel, if all we do is give and never fill up ourselves, we will eventually end up on empty. Finding ourselves on empty, in the midst of life’s storms, will lead to the eventual tearing apart of us, as leaders, and ultimately destruction of the people we lead.
Therefore, it is paramount to our safety and longevity, as leaders, to lead ourselves FIRST. We must make time, yearly, monthly, weekly and, yes, even daily to check our personal gauges and make sure all is good and running properly. We must find resources, community, learning opportunities and times of quiet reflection to “fill up” so that we are not only able to give to those we lead, but also to be prepared and ready when turmoil and challenges come brewing up on the seas of life and leadership.
At MaxQ Leaders, we help you find time and resources that help you be the best leader during the storms of life.