I want you to close your eyes completely. Put your hands in front of them so you are in complete darkness. Now imagine being that way permanently, and then imagine stepping from dry land onto a wobbly pontoon, treading over ropes, dodging cleats, clambering over guard rails, onto a wobbly deck space no more than 18inches wide and trying to make your way, in this darkness, to a place of relative safety, namely the cockpit of a yacht.

Now add into that mix, some wind, and rain... and slippery surfaces.

And now, in addition to closing your eyes, put some ear plugs into your ears to silence the sounds around you and bring about complete silence. You cannot hear anything said, or sounds from nature.

Could I ask you to tie some tape around your mouth, so that you cannot speak? Thank you.

And then, I want you to come sailing with me and our crews for a week off the English Coast and have the holiday of a lifetime!

Would you?

I am not sure I would, as it takes the most extraordinary courage and resilience to overcome all these physical challenges and take a leap of faith in a group of strangers.

But that is exactly what Justin did, who was born deaf, dumb and blind, and young Andy, who has hearing and speech, but is totally blind and has been since he was 3.

One of the great things about working for OnTrack International is that they allow us time off to work with a charity of our choice. I am lucky enough to work with the Visually Impaired (VI) and every year I join a fabulous group of generous yacht skippers who give up their yachts for over a week, together with a bunch of sighted crew members who team up to take people like Justin and Andy sailing. This year we had 24 yachts, and skippers, 48 sighted crew and one VI per sighted crew.

Every year I am always blown away by their bravery, their resilience, their sense of humour, their determination, and their total faith and trust in the sighted crew to keep them safe.
Whilst this is a holiday for them, in the rare “off duty” moments, I find myself thinking about all that we teach around leadership and how many of the lessons we teach in the classroom comes to life here in the most real way.

Trust- which is at the heart of any successful organisation and relationship – the VI’s trust us implicitly and it is for us to uphold that trust 100%. Their life and safety is all down to us.

Proactivity- and taking responsibility for your own life and actions, not blaming the world, merely adopting a what can I do mentality. This is evidenced in mountains by these amazing visually impaired people.

Seek first to Understand- each VI has different needs, different situations, different stories, all of which need to be understood to give them the right help, and guidance. What works for one, almost certainly will not work for another.

Communication skills- people’s lives are at stake here. Quality and accurate communication that is adapted for the individual VI is essential. The message sent must be the message received each time. (For Justin, we write on his hand)

Remaining ++ - at times the week is challenging for the sighted crew too, and situations can arise that might trigger a +- response (aggression), and have to be reined back to ++! Not always easy when faced with petty mindedness from some Royal Yacht Club members more concerned about correct pennants flying from the mast than the welfare and safety of VIs. A classic example of what we call “green dotting”.

Humility- a core trait of a good leader, spend a week with these Vis and you learn all about humility.

Demonstrating care- a core need of all employees from their boss. Sometimes the Vis need a hug- when the going gets tough for them.

Clear direction- unambiguous and transparent.

Goals and objectives that are SMART- each VI comes with different expectations and setting SMART goals for them is essential for them to have a rewarding week and ensuring they are realistic.

Reward and recognition- when the Vi has just helmed brilliantly, or made it to the bow and sorted the ropes ready for slipping away, or for arriving. (Now that takes courage!)

Fun- because it should not all be about hard work- we have to have fun too!

And fun we had!!!- A highlight (of which there were many) was in discovering that young Andy has the most amazing voice and is THE most amazing Elvis Presley impersonator. He knows the words to every Elvis song and all the dance moves! Every night he treated us to a free Elvis concert and sing-along!

Not a bad week in the office eh?

Mary
AKA Officer Tillson!

If you want to know more about sailing with the blind, or more about our approach to leadership training and how we can support you and your organisation in developing just some of these skills and traits, don’t hesitate to contact us.