Here’s another reflection in the “Leading on the Seas” series of posts here. Check the category link to “Leading on the Seas” for a listing of other posts in the series.
There’s some great background on the term Albatross from the wikipedia entry “Albatross metaphor”,
“the word albatross is sometimes used to mean an encumbrance, or a wearisome burden.[1] It is an allusion to Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).
In the poem, an albatross starts to follow a ship — being followed by an albatross was generally considered an omen of good luck. However, the titular mariner shoots the albatross with a crossbow, which is regarded as an act that will curse the ship (which indeed suffers terrible mishaps). To punish him, his companions induce him to wear the dead albatross around his neck indefinitely (until they all die from the curse, as it happens). Thus the albatross can be both an omen of good or bad luck, as well as a metaphor for a burden to be carried (as penance).
The symbolism used in the Coleridge poem is its highlight. For example:
Ah ! well a-day ! what evil looks
Had I from old and young !
Instead of the cross, the Albatross
About my neck was hung.”
An Albatross is a significant burden then in modern language, which stems from some of the above traditions and context. In fact, where I hear it the most is in reference to really bad professional athlete contracts. As a Cub fan, the 8 year and billion dollar contract given to Alfonso Soriano is frequently identified as an “Albatross.” If you think of your favorite pro team, chances are there’s someone on the team that earns a disproportionate amount of money compared to performance and it’s a commitment that hamstrings the team’s ability to make the team better. The contract becomes an immense burden that a team cannot escape.
There are things in any leadership context that can become an Albatross. Traditions and commitments to the way things have been can lead to a significant investment in “preserving the past.” Some of this is important for continuity and values and heritage. But when a disproportionate amount is invested, then the past and the traditions of the past can become an Albatross.
Conferences can be an Albatross when tradition dictates you keep doing them though perhaps there is a disproportionate amount of resources going into them. You commit to contracts, you execute the traditional yearly program, you get locked in and the commitments end up dictating your leadership and not the other way around.
The impact of significant decisions can be an Albatross, just like the Mariner’s decision to shoot the Albatross with a crossbow in Coleridge’s poem. Some decisions are so bad, they leave a stench for years even when nobody can recall its origins after years have gone by. The impact of losing quality people, damaging trust, squandering resources, going into significant debt, or whatever it may be can create an Albatross like burden that contexts have to bear for years.
But fear not, we don’t need to follow the Ancient Mariner and be doomed forever by our Albatrosses. There are times where we must bear an Albatross for a time. We need to have the fortitude to persevere when there’s limited options. However, with intentionality and courage and hard work we can eventually shed those Albatrosses and lead free.
As a side commentary, these are days in which it is important to be free of leadership Albatrosses. Contemporary community, modern technology, and a host of other things have shaped a faster and more agile leadership climate in which trust and flexibility is critical. Leading free is important for long term success and empowering future generations.
I’m curious what comes to your mind personally or organizationally when you think of the metaphor of an “Albatross.” Please share a thought or reflection if something comes to your mind. Is there something you’ve identified that is holding you back as a leader – personally or organizationally?
When you see or have been under the weight of an Albatross – personally or organizationally – how have you seen success and fruit in getting free of it?
