Animal Rain
Yes, you read the title of this post correctly. On Wednesday, December 30th, fish were literally raining from the Texarkana, TX sky. These small animals appear to have been sucked up into a waterspout and fell back to earth as the spout subsided. Believe it or not, this event known as “animal rain” is not an uncommon occurrence.
When a waterspout has enough power to generate what is called an Updraft, and the fish are the right size and located in the right spot, the spout’s vortex can lift them up before eventually dropping them back towards the ground.
See the city of Texarkana’s Facebook post below:
This event is so unusual I had to draw the leadership lessons from it! Therefore, the following are three tips for handling unexpected leadership problems we can learn from this ecological anomaly:
Most Issues We Face Are Not Uncommon
When something “bizarre” or “crazy” happens in our life and leadership, it can shake our equilibrium. The fact is we rarely face problems unique to us. Oftentimes, others have faced very similar obstacles and overcame them. For instance, Oroville, CA had a raining fish problem in 2017. The Weather Channel also reports that the Australian town of Lajamanu has had multiple cases of animal rain.
The problem is to always identify the real problem, the solution then becomes obvious because it has been faced many times before.
Great Chaos Creates Great Opportunity
Smart leaders always see chaos as opportunity. For instance, the most successful investors see downturns in the economy as the world’s yard sales for the rich. Similarly, many town residents saw the animal rain as an opportunity. One man used the small fish as fishing bait. Others simply had a large fish fry. They made the best use out this unusual circumstance.
The Value Of Discretion
While this is an interesting story, it did not end well for the fish. They had a fatal return to earth.
Smart leaders use discretion and know which storms not to get sucked up in to. It too can be fatal to your leadership. Sometimes you need to avoid the vortex. Sometimes it is best to remain silent or just walk away. Otherwise, the storm may spit you out as well and you will come crashing back to earth.
If you are involved in a stormy situation, leadership expert and motivational speaker Tony Robbins offers the following five tips for diffusing arguments. You can read the full article HERE.
- Recognize Your Patterns – This includes reliving the past, avoiding confrontation which leads to bigger arguments, competing to be heard, and not being present.
- Stop Accusing The Other Person
- Use The Right Tone – 38% of your vocal elements are communicated in ways other than words.
- Listen – 45% of your time communicating is used for listening. To be a better listener avoid distractions, use body language, summarize the conversation, and ask great questions.
- Defuse The Argument – Take a breath. Say, “Let’s start over.” Use humor. If these do not work, show compassion.
Ike Reighard taught me the safest place to be in a fire is where it has already burned.
Conclusion
It was raining fish in Texarkana and they made something positive out of it. If you experience something unusual in your life, use the three leadership lessons listed above to make the best of your situation as well.
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