When the American West was being settled in the 1800’s immigrants would often cross the land by way of wagon-train. Led by trotting horses or oxen, the wood would creak and the canvas would flutter under the sun as families from Europe would search for a new place to settle and call home.
Along the way they would encounter all sorts of hardship, from broken cogs to water shortage and yes, for those of you who have played Oregon Trail, dysentery! But one of the problems that persisted throughout these journeys had less to do with whether or not they had access to fresh water or were able to avoid natural disaster—these wagon trains had a problem of information.
Like all trains (the word comes the Latin, to pull or draw, typically a series of things), there is a leader car that determines the direction of the cars that follow behind. In long trains, the lead has no idea what’s happening behind it, and the cars not in the lead have no idea where they are going.
The leaders lack information on what’s happening behind them, and the followers lack information on the direction they’re headed.
As you can imagine, there was plenty of opportunity for conflict to arise in these situations. The caboose could have been picked off by a group of outlaws and not discovered until the next day. The lead wagon might have clear sense of where they ought to go but can’t communicate that information with the team behind—perhaps missing out on vital arguments on where the next path should lead.
One solution these wagon trains developed was to “circle the wagons.”
In practice, the wagon train would change its shape. It would move from linear to circular, from movement to holding position. By circling up, each wagon could see each other, count their numbers, and gather in the middle to check in, make plans, hear each other, and defend potential attacks from outsiders (elephants do the same thing!). All of these actions (defense, planning, checking in, and seeing each other) is easier and more practical to do when the goal isn’t to push forward, but to stop and assess.
I picked up the phrase “circle the wagons” during my doctoral research with a project manager at a biotech company. Here’s a portion of the transcript from the interview:
We had to re-circle the wagons and re-discuss it and make sure it’s not a one-person decision here, it’s a team decision. We go back to a topic, we come back together, re-talk about it and then go again. If you’re re-circling the wagons you’re coming back together instead of sticking with your original decision, you’re adding time. You’re taking away time from a process but sometimes you have to take away time for you to have quality. In our case we wanted the best option and the highest quality option as our end product, so instead of making a hasty decision we made a quality decision.
Sometimes as leaders (whether of a company, a book club, or a family) we mistake constant movement as leadership. And while driving a company forward may in fact be the simplest way to think of leadership, if you never stop to see what’s going on behind you, or check in and get data from the rest of the group in the train, you might find when you get to where you wanted to go there’s no one left in your wagon train.
The point: every now and then circle up the wagons.
Stop moving, check-in on your direction, get input on how the trip is going, and if you suspect some corporate outlaws on the horizon, get everyone situated to mount a momentary defense.
Use rhetoric to take this idea from concept to lived practice.
Here are some rhetorical moves you can use to circle the wagons at work and in your lives:
1. If you’re a leader or PM:
State outright that you meeting has an explicitly stated agenda item to “circle the wagons.”
I like this phrase because it makes it a little less formal, which might loosen up everyone just enough so they’ll let you know how they’re really thinking…Tell everyone this is a check-in and to come with questions, comments, or ideas about the next task goal or the most recent action item.
2. If you’re a team member but not necessarily in a leadership role:
If you’re feeling unsure about where you’re team is headed, or how everyone is sitting with a particular action, ask:
“Would you mind if we all circle the wagons for 10 minutes and check in?”
And if someone asks what you what circling the wagon means, you might discover you’ve bought yourself a little time to voice your uncertainty about what lies ahead and express your desire to hear more where those around you feel. (You could also share this post!) Even if the metaphorical wagon circle doesn’t form, at the very least you’ve communicated that you want to slow down for a moment.
To conclude: to lead does not always mean to lead forward. Sometimes we lead to link up and check in with one another.
Checking in may involve having, and indeed embracing, a conflict here or there. “Why are we going that way? I want us to go here instead.” or “Wait, I thought we were headed this way?” or, “I’m out of water! We need to get more water before we go any further.” Invite the wagon to provide information that will help the train arrive at its destination—invite productive conflict.
Next Week: Prepping You for Thanksgiving Dinner