Some days the leader’s job is just to keep everyone hydrated, fed and not snapping at each other.

LEADERSHIP

WHAT THIS MEANS

Some days there is no strategy required, only maintenance, because people get strange when they are hungry, tired and too hot, and most of the conflict you are about to manage is really that. Attending to the physical conditions is not beneath leading, it often is leading, and it prevents more trouble than any conversation. Nobody notices when it is done well.

Look at your group and check the basics before you address anything emotional. Hand out water, get food into people, build in a gap. A surprising number of arguments dissolve on their own after that.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

What basic care does your group need before anything ambitious?

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