“If you cut the starfish in half, you’ll be in for a surprise: the animal won’t die & pretty soon you’ll have two starfish to deal with.” – Ori Brafman
Found washed up on ocean shores, who knew starfish could teach us valuable lessons about leadership?
These fascinating creatures symbolize grace, self-renewal, & love.
Despite being preyed upon in the ocean, starfish demonstrate the extraordinary power of regeneration, as they effortlessly regrow their damaged limbs & continue to radiate elegance. This ability to transform & renew themselves offers profound insights for everyone who has seen the pits & high waters of the professional world.
Today, let us explore how leaders in the corporate world can draw inspiration from this oceanic creature & incorporate aspects of transformation, self-renewal into their leadership style to navigate challenges & foster growth.
Embracing Transformation
Throughout our lives, we encounter situations where we have to let go of things we are strongly attached to. Sometimes it is a habit like smoking, unhealthy eating choices. Other times it can be a place or a person. For a starfish, it is often its own body.
The urgency of survival causes it to let go of an amputated arm – something it grew up with ever since its birth.
Likewise, as a leader, you may be trialled with a situation where you must let go of something dear to you in order to move a step closer to your & your business’s goal. By doing so, you step out of your comfort zone. As a result, you become open to change & transformation.
Embracing this mindset enables you to foster an environment that encourages creativity, change, & continuous improvement.
Turning Adversity into Strength
The world is like an ocean. To find your way through it, you first have to get lost in it.
The probability of getting lost & experiencing failure is always greater than the probability of hitting your goal. This is why we fail more often.
The life of a starfish is constantly threatened by the idea of death. It has to save itself from predators of the sea – a struggle that often causes it to lose parts of its body.
Imagine realising that you have been crippled & your enemies are still out there to hunt you.
It is a situation where failure is coupled with fear.
Despite that, the starfish does not give up. Its body continues to regenerate & heal itself. Its disability does not prevent it from pursuing growth.
This teaches us not to deter from our paths, regardless of the difficulties encountered. Each hurdle can be crossed, & every challenge can be overcome. By adopting a growth mindset, leaders can transform adversity into strength.
Instead of succumbing to setbacks, they can view them as opportunities to learn, grow, evolve both personally & professionally.
After all, the learnings achieved from failures are greater & more strongly enforced than those achieved from success.
Healing
The starfish’s ability to regenerate & radiate stems from an innate capacity for self-love & healing.
In today’s dynamic world, leaders can take inspiration from this aspect by infusing their leadership style with empathy, compassion, & a genuine concern for the well-being of their teams by starting with themselves. By prioritizing relationships with themselves, leaders can, in turn, create a supportive environment that encourages collaboration, trust, & personal growth.
Just as the starfish thrives in its environment, leaders who lead with love inspire their teams to reach their full potential & excel in their roles.
Patience & Certainty
Despite being dismembered, the starfish is capable of complete recovery as long as it retains at least one arm & a fifth of its central disk.
Complete regeneration of the body often takes an entire year.
This is where patience comes in. It is coupled with a strong belief that growth is still possible. The starfish exhibits both &, in the end, recovers what it lost.
Patience & Consistency are the two basic qualities without which one can never be a leader. Patience while handling uncertainty, consistency while handling struggles. How can one inspire & guide others if they themself lose hope in the middle of the way?
Conclusion
The life of a starfish is a lesson for people pursuing success in the oceanic world of professionalism. Whether you are a consultant, team leader, manager or an entrepreneur leading a group of individuals or an entire organisation, your role will revolve around inspiring people & showing them the way.
You will have to embark on a journey of self-renewal like the starfish. You will have to make your transformation infectious so that it radiates from the level of an individual to the level of an organisation.
What do you think?
How do you wish to pursue growth as a leader on a personal level?
