A Behemoth Lesson in Trust and Leadership

I expect to be a better leader after each vacation. That results from a blend of casual but professionally related reading by the beach, stress-free reflection on the busy period prior to the holiday, and even practicing leadership and coaching skills within the joyous confides of family and friends.


One of the most enjoyable days of this year’s vacation was a day spent at Canada’s Wonderland, riding every daredevil ride the park offers. The highlight of the park is its newest rollercoaster called Behemoth. It’s one of the new generation of rollercoasters (called a hyper-coaster) that contains a (nearly) direct vertical climb and drop.

Want to learn more about this ride? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behemoth_(roller_coaster)

How does Behemoth connect with trust and leadership?

Let’s present the Behemoth experience with any new special project challenge. Here are the characteristics of the Behemoth ride that would serve you well in a new project.

o You are embarking toward the unknown. You know it is something you haven’t done before, and it will lead to an experience previously unimagined. But you must have the gumption to try it. Not every type of personality has this which is just fine. For me, these hyper-coasters create what I call “out-of-body experiences” that attract me to their insanity.

o As the coaster begins the journey, hauling you 230 feet straight into the air, it gets scary. You’re helpless. Your inner voice screams ‘high enough’, ‘please take me back’ or many other things. You accept the fear and keep going.

o What helps deal with the fear is trust. You have to trust that the engineers who built Behemoth, and Canada’s Wonderland who paid 26 million dollars for it, have your back. It’s the same with an anxiety-thrilled project; trust in your leaders is huge.

o The payoff moment arrives. On the behemoth, you are falling at a speed of 127 kilometers-per hour (almost 80 miles-per-hour), followed by a series of rapid “air-time hills” that create a brief sensation of weightlessness. During this part of the ride, you feel a greater sense of team as everyone around you screams. You are all living the moment together.

o In less than three minutes, the ride is over. You will decide if it’s an experience you want to repeat (with your newly acquired experience and understanding), or maybe you have learned that you never want to do it again.

Any project that seeks to profoundly change or create new ways of improving our lives will probably carry many of the same emotions as a ride on the Behemoth. As a leader, we should look for team members with the courage to face the unknown; accept the risks; and the ability to acknowledge and conquer their fear. The leader of such a team must realize that they will place their trust in you to safely support and protect them at every turn.

If you have that kind of team, you’ll accomplish great things.

As per our blog policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of the ROHCG.