Remember playing jump rope as a kid?

Two people turning the rope, a line of others waiting their turn. To get in, you had to watch the rhythm, find your moment, and commit. Half-hearted jumps did not work. Neither did hesitating with one foot in.

I have recently been thinking about that playground game in a very grown-up context. 

What happens when an organization goes through a hard time?

In those moments, people tend to fall into one of three groups.

The first group drops their end of the rope. They walk away, and some would be content to see the game end entirely, regardless of the mission or the people the organization was created to serve. They put up obstacles. They speak poorly of an organization they were part of not long ago. Their energy goes toward stopping the game rather than keeping it going.

The second group picks up the rope and keeps it turning, or watches the rhythm and jumps right in. Yes, the organization got off track. Yes, some poor decisions were made. But the mission is still there. The gaps it fills in the community are still there. The needs of the people it serves have not gone anywhere. This group asks what is possible rather than dwelling on what went wrong, and they move toward the future in a way that is optimistic, hopeful, supportive, and actionable.

Then there is the third group…Those caught in the middle. You know this jumper. They rock back and forth at the edge, waiting for the perfect moment that never seems to come. Or worse, they step halfway in and the rope catches their feet, stopping the game for everyone. Divided and conflicted, they have not walked away, but they have not committed either.

Here is what may surprise you…This middle group may be more detrimental to an organization’s health than those who leave. When someone drops the rope, the others can pick it up and adjust. But a jumper stuck in the middle disrupts the rhythm for everyone. Ambivalence from within is harder to name, slows momentum, chips away at trust, and makes it difficult for those who are all in to keep the rope turning.

Every organization will miss a beat now and then. Leadership will make mistakes. Seasons of difficulty are inevitable. What is not inevitable is how we choose to show up. And how we respond reveals a pattern that tends to follow us from one organization to the next. What is in our control is how we react. 

I will finish with this question: When the rope is turning and an organization needs you most, do you step in, step out, or get stuck in the middle?

The mission does not stop mattering when things get difficult. If anything, that is exactly when it needs people willing to find the rhythm, commit, and jump.

Pickleball & Leadership