One of my favorite obstacles at Tough Mudder events has to be Walk the Plank. Although I did not grow up in the circus or qualify for the '92 Olympics as a gymnast I do have a penchant for flipping on, over, and off things. Walk the Plank provides the perfect obstacle for this type of craziness and creativity. One of my favorite pictures from all of the events is the mudder flip progression below.
This is the official description of the obstacle from www.toughmudder.com
Test your fear of heights and cold all in one with our 15+ feet high jump into freezing water. Mudders℠ like to display their fancy diving skills (or belly-flops) at this obstacle. Don’t spend too much time pondering your leap – Marines at the top of the platform will chew you out.
I began a series when this blog initially started that outlined leadership lessons learned from various obstacles. You can read Leadership Lessons from Everest here and Leadership Lessons from Electroshock Therapy here. I thought I'd do the same with Walk the Plank.
1. Leap Before You Look - Patrick actually outlined this lesson in a post that focused on The Power of Under-Thinking. There are times as a leader when you have to make the leap even in the face of adversity and obstacles. I have seen countless people freeze at the top of the platform because they are afraid to jump. We also witnessed a husband coax (push) his wife off because she was frozen at the top. I would not recommend that as a strategy although I did empathize with him. A fundamental difference between good and great leaders is a willingness to pull off a flip when others are afraid to jump. Keep in mind that sometimes the risk can be too big and you end up like the clip below.
2. Look Before You Leap - I know this is the inverse of the previous lesson but there is a reason. A leader must be aware of their surroundings at all times. This type of situational awareness allows leaders to make the right decisions because they have the pulse of the organization. This is also true with the Walk the Plank obstacle. You need to wait at the top to make sure the water is clear. It often takes a long time for people to surface from the jumps so you need to make sure that the coast is clear. You have to balance this with waiting too long and being frozen at the top or having a spouse push you off. Feel free to flex for the cameras while you wait like the video below.
3. Organization and Precision will Make ALL the Difference - We have now completed this obstacle a number of times in several different states on many different types of terrain. While the obstacle itself remains the same the organization of the obstacle is different. Sometimes there are people at the bottom directing participants on when to climb up. Other times there is nobody present and the lines begin to back up. Sometimes there are a host of people coordinating jumps at the top with countdowns. Other times there is not a clear structure for when to jump or you are told individually. This makes a huge difference in how the obstacle adds to or takes away from the experience. This is also true with leadership. The details often make the difference between a successful endeavor and one that fails miserably. Nobody will care how revolutionary your product is if they cannot find a place to park. Organization and precision make a difference at Walk the Plank and they make a difference in your leadership.
There are certainly many more leadership lessons to be learned at Walk the Plank. The rules also change with this obstacle as there are no flips allowed south of Georgia. We'll see what lessons are learned in Virginia Beach. We'll be sure to post them here! For now we have rare footage from our first ever attempt at Walk the Plank in Pennsylvania. It's amazing to see how much we have changed from 1 short year ago.
This is the official description of the obstacle from www.toughmudder.com
Test your fear of heights and cold all in one with our 15+ feet high jump into freezing water. Mudders℠ like to display their fancy diving skills (or belly-flops) at this obstacle. Don’t spend too much time pondering your leap – Marines at the top of the platform will chew you out.
I began a series when this blog initially started that outlined leadership lessons learned from various obstacles. You can read Leadership Lessons from Everest here and Leadership Lessons from Electroshock Therapy here. I thought I'd do the same with Walk the Plank.
1. Leap Before You Look - Patrick actually outlined this lesson in a post that focused on The Power of Under-Thinking. There are times as a leader when you have to make the leap even in the face of adversity and obstacles. I have seen countless people freeze at the top of the platform because they are afraid to jump. We also witnessed a husband coax (push) his wife off because she was frozen at the top. I would not recommend that as a strategy although I did empathize with him. A fundamental difference between good and great leaders is a willingness to pull off a flip when others are afraid to jump. Keep in mind that sometimes the risk can be too big and you end up like the clip below.
2. Look Before You Leap - I know this is the inverse of the previous lesson but there is a reason. A leader must be aware of their surroundings at all times. This type of situational awareness allows leaders to make the right decisions because they have the pulse of the organization. This is also true with the Walk the Plank obstacle. You need to wait at the top to make sure the water is clear. It often takes a long time for people to surface from the jumps so you need to make sure that the coast is clear. You have to balance this with waiting too long and being frozen at the top or having a spouse push you off. Feel free to flex for the cameras while you wait like the video below.
There are certainly many more leadership lessons to be learned at Walk the Plank. The rules also change with this obstacle as there are no flips allowed south of Georgia. We'll see what lessons are learned in Virginia Beach. We'll be sure to post them here! For now we have rare footage from our first ever attempt at Walk the Plank in Pennsylvania. It's amazing to see how much we have changed from 1 short year ago.
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