The Mother Road Rally Leadership Lessons
In 2017, Paul and I took most incredible trip in my lifetime so far. It was across this incredible country on a motorcycle together from Connecticut to California and back again. It took 6 weeks.
Truth be told I didn’t ride the whole way. Paul did. On the first leg he was alone, driving from CT to Chicago (4 days).
I flew out there to meet him, my sister and brother in law, and 60 other adventurers on motorcycles to ride old Route 66, affectionately called the Mother Road.
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This second leg of the trip was 2,448 miles, across eight states, which took us 12 days. 80% of the trip was backroads. It changed my life in many ways. But that’s not what this blog is about.
Today, I’m going to share with you the 15 lessons in leadership I witnessed by The Mother Road Rally Ride Master, George Higgins.
I’m reposting this because George passed away this past Sunday, at 80 years old. George and his wife Annie have been the leaders of this tour for 20 years (except when it was cancelled in 2020). We can all learn a lot from him.
The Rally Master – George Higgins
George was a fantastic leader and a super nice guy. He had a very unassuming personality and yet everyone followed him and we watched his every move. When George put his helmet on, you better be ready to go.
When Paul and I first arrived for our trip in 2017, George went around and conducted a short video interview of each rider and their partner if there was one. George focused on who he had in his group and took the time to get to know each of us.
In the months leading up to the ride he sent out emails to touch base, set expectations, introduced us all to each other and pointed out cool and unusual things we had to look forward to. He was not self-promoting in any way.
After our interview with George I asked “How do you get everyone going and ready all at the same time?”
This is what he told me. He said, “Well, I listed all the start times on the schedule you received in your packet. So if we are going to be leaving at 7AM, we’ll start lining up the our bikes at around 6:30. At 6:55 I’ll beep my horn once which is your 5 minute warning to get your gear on and start your bikes. At 7 sharp I’ll beep my horn twice and then we go. In the beginning I used to wait for the stragglers until I realized that every day I was waiting for the same few people. I never wait anymore. You’ve got to teach a straggler on day one not to be a straggler or they’ll miss the train.”
Then he looked at me and smiled. He didn’t have to say it but his look said, “don’t be a straggler.”
15 Leadership Lessons
Here are 15 leadership behaviors I witnessed in George that you can apply to any leadership opportunity you may be in charge of in your life:
- Plan ahead and be consistent with doing what you say you are going to do.
- Reward the people who are on time by starting on time.
- It’s okay to be separated for a little while. George would always pull over at some point for others to catch up.
- Don’t share every little detail so that you can surprise and delight your followers with special stops along the way.
- Life is not a race. It’s about the journey not just reaching the next destination.
- Regardless of the weather or obstacles, push on through and stick to the schedule as much as possible. Allow people to leave if they can’t keep up or have other important destinations to reach.
- Hydrate, eat well, go to bed early and take care of your physical body so you can enjoy the ride.
- Be kind to everyone you meet and you’ll meet some awesome people.
- If you hit an obstacle, like rain, hail or grasshoppers on the journey, don’t stop! Keep riding so you can get through it faster.
- Take care of your bike and your tools to avoid unnecessary delays. Always start the day with a full tank of gas.
- Implement the buddy system so you have someone to look after and someone looks after you so no one gets lost.
- History has much to teach us so stop and visit museums along the road.
- Have a system of communication (CB) so everyone knows where to go and where to meet up.
- At the end of the journey, celebrate and reward your followers with prizes and food.
- When your followers praise you, be humble and give credit to your team.
I had such an amazing trip and I loved seeing this great country while being led by George and Annie.
There were many people they called “repeat offenders” who went on that trip multiple times because George would change the stops from year to year to make it more interesting. He bonded with hundreds of people and created loyalty. I admire that in a leader.
My belief was validated; people are pretty much how you expect them to be.
If you are bright and friendly, they reflect that back to you. If you are cold and aloof, that’s what you’ll experience.
I highly recommend going on an adventure like this when you get the chance. And don’t wait. Make the chance. Live life with no regrets like George did.
This is one major bucket list item we can cross off the list but alas many more items have now been added.
We’ll miss you George. Thanks for being such an excellent model for good leadership.
When you have good leadership in your life, let them know how much you appreciate them. Leaders don’t get thanked enough.
All my best,
Maureen
PS. Just for the record, there were 2 more legs to that mega trip in 2017. The 3rd leg was up the coast from Santa Monica Pier to Carmel by the Sea and then across the mountains, through Nevada then Utah and into Colorado (11 Days). Absolutely spectacular! Then I flew home from CO and Paul did the last leg solo, back to CT (8 days). Almost four weeks on the road was enough for me! Paul rode the whole way of course, over 8,000 miles and it took him just shy of six weeks. I give thanks to my retirement savings account for the funding of this trip. Don’t stop saving! or Dreaming.
On the podcast this week . . .
My guest on the podcast today is Mark Resnick and he is the Author of a book called: Ten Days With Dad: Finding Purpose, Passion, & Peace during the darkest days of Alzheimer’s and Covid 19.
Overcoming the challenges of caring for loved ones facing terminal diseases can be very difficult. Then add in cancer and Covid and it’s downright heartbreaking. But through adversity we learn so much. Mark shared over 200 meals with his dad and probably 600 cups of coffee and got to know him at such deep level that his disease turned into a gift.
Mark found ways to be happy, pursued his passion to write, and came to peace with his past, including letting go of regret and forgiving those who hurt him. Everyone can benefit from this episode. Mark even made me cry.
Emerge. Evolve. Lead. Podcast
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