The Little Dams We Build

This week we’re camping at Lac de Serre-Ponçon in the French Alps.

This morning Declan and I took our bikes for a short ride. We weren’t chasing kilometres or looking for a destination. Before long we came across a small mountain stream.

The bikes were forgotten almost immediately.

Within minutes he was doing what children instinctively do. He began collecting stones, building little dams, watching the water pool behind them, then removing stones again to see where the stream would flow next.

As I watched him, I realised I was watching a lesson in leadership.

Leadership is rarely about controlling people. It’s about influencing the direction of their lives.

Sometimes we remove obstacles.

We help someone overcome self-doubt. We remove unnecessary barriers. We have the difficult conversation that clears the air. We create opportunities that weren’t there before.

Other days, we do the opposite.

We intentionally place something in someone’s path. A challenging question. A new responsibility. An opportunity that stretches them beyond what they think they’re capable of.

Not to stop them, but to help them grow.

Watching the stream was fascinating because the water never stopped moving. Every time Declan changed something, the stream simply found another way.

People often do the same.

When someone believes in them, encourages them, or gently challenges them, they frequently discover strengths they didn’t know they possessed. Sometimes all it takes is one obstacle being removed. Other times, it takes one carefully placed challenge to reveal a new direction.

It reminded me that significance in leadership isn’t usually found in the boardroom, on the conference stage, or during the big announcement.

It’s found in the small moments.

• A conversation.

• A word of encouragement.

• A thoughtful question.

• A difficult challenge.

• A barrier removed.

• A stone carefully placed.

Years later, people may not remember exactly what you said or did. They may not remember the meeting or the project.

But they might remember that something changed.

That they became more confident. That they saw a possibility they hadn’t seen before. That their life took a different direction because someone cared enough to help shape the flow.

Watching my son build tiny dams in a mountain stream reminded me that leadership isn’t about controlling the current.

It’s about helping people discover where they are capable of flowing.