The Worst Time to Build a Life Raft

Once I watched a movie where a sailor got thrown overboard during a violent storm. She was an experienced sailor—but the storm came out of nowhere.

The part I remember most wasn’t the waves.

It was watching her frantically trying to build a life raft while she was already in the water.

She grabbed floating planks as they drifted by. She pulled them together with one arm while trying to hammer nails with the other. She dropped nails. She smashed her thumb. Every wave ripped part of the raft apart before she could finish it.

You wanted to yell at the screen.

“You’re supposed to build the raft before the storm!”

…

No, I’m kidding.

I’m pretty sure I just made that entire movie up.

But now you’ll probably remember that scene the next time you find yourself fighting through a leadership crisis, desperately trying to build the very tools you wish you’d already had.

Because that’s exactly what many of us do.

Most people don’t think much about their own resilience. Why would they? As long as life is reasonably calm, we assume it’s there.

Until one day it isn’t.

An English teacher once taught me that one literary device can improve comprehension simply by making your brain stop for a second. So here goes:

You don’t realize that you don’t have resilience…

…until you suddenly realize you don’t have resilience.

Hard times don’t usually create something new.

They reveal what has quietly been built all along.

A talk I was listening to recently reminded me of something I wish more leaders understood.

Healthy leaders don’t stumble into resilience.

They don’t simply claim they’re resilient and then magically become so.

They intentionally build tools that soften the impact of life’s storms and shelter and guide them when rough times inevitably come.

That idea has enormous implications for leadership.

Tools Reduce the Cost of Hard Days

When we’re exhausted, grieving, overwhelmed, or discouraged, our ability to think clearly declines.

That’s normal.

The goal isn’t to become someone who never struggles.

The goal is to become someone who already knows where to reach when the struggle comes.

Do you?

Tools reduce the number of decisions we have to make when our judgment is tired, our emotions are loud, or our circumstances become overwhelming.

The autopilot that great tools create helps preserve our energy for the decisions that actually require wisdom.

Build Systems That Help People Succeed

One of my favorite examples came from a team I led recently.

We created a Mobility Assistant role that was far more valuable than many people realized.

These weren’t simply “extra hands.”

They were intelligent people looking for a doorway into healthcare.

Some people looked down on them because they were unlicensed, hadn’t yet received formal clinical training, or were just beginning—or reentering—the workforce.

But here’s what I saw.

They received full-time benefits, opportunities for tuition assistance, exposure to multiple departments, and relationships with experienced clinicians who often became mentors.

At the same time, nurses gained something equally valuable.

Someone to answer call lights.

Someone to walk patients in the hallway.

Someone to stay with a confused patient while they used the bathroom.

Someone to pass out a ginger ale or coffee, comfort a lonely family member, or walk the halls with a patient who wasn’t sick enough for intensive nursing care but wasn’t yet safe to return home.

Everyone worked closer to the top of their license.

Patients received more attention.

Future healthcare professionals gained experience.

For a relatively small investment, we designed a system that made good care easier to deliver.

That wasn’t simply staffing.

It was a leadership tool.

It made the right thing the easier thing.

That’s what a good life raft does.

It doesn’t make the storm disappear.

It simply gives people something dependable to stand on while the storm is raging.

Don’t Solve One Problem by Creating Ten More

Years earlier, I watched another hospital respond very differently.

After several patients received the wrong meal trays—a genuine safety concern—a new rule was announced:

Only registered nurses could deliver meal trays.

The intention was understandable.

The solution wasn’t.

Instead of addressing the employee making the mistakes, leadership shifted thousands of unnecessary tasks onto already overburdened nurses while frustrating dietary staff members who had been doing excellent work all along.

Eventually the rule quietly disappeared.

No explanation.

No acknowledgment.

No learning.

The problem wasn’t caring about patient safety.

The problem was creating a system that punished everyone instead of solving the actual problem.

Leadership isn’t only about making decisions.

It’s about building systems people can trust.

Build Tools Before You Need Them

I’ve become increasingly convinced that every leader needs a personal toolbox.

Some people need a morning walk.

Some need a prayer journal.

Some schedule recurring conversations with trusted friends.

One of my favorite tools is something I call The Council.

It’s a structured way of thinking through difficult decisions before fear, frustration, urgency, or ego take over. Each “voice” represents a perspective I know I need to hear before I act.

When my emotions become loud, I don’t ask them to make my decisions.

I let the process I’d already built carry me.

Just like the imaginary sailor, I’d rather build the raft before I ever need it.

Movement Creates Momentum

The same principle shows up outside leadership, too.

A while back, Mike decided he was tired of living with constant back pain and carrying more weight than he wanted. Running sounded miserable. Some mornings he joked that he needed an ibuprofen just to avoid a “back attack.”

But he put on his shoes anyway.

The first runs weren’t impressive.

They weren’t fast.

They weren’t fun.

But he kept showing up.

Eventually the running became easier.

Then eating healthier became easier.

The weight started coming off.

His back improved.

One healthy habit quietly made the next healthy habit easier.

That’s how good systems work.

They create momentum.

Motivation usually shows up after movement—not before it.

Healthy leaders understand this.

They don’t build lives that depend on motivation.

They build lives supported by tools, habits, and systems that continue working when motivation disappears.

What Are You Making Normal?

Eventually every leader faces days when clear thinking becomes difficult.

Stress happens.

Loss happens.

Unexpected change happens.

The question isn’t whether those days will come.

The better question is this:

What are you making normal today that will carry you when tomorrow becomes difficult?

The healthiest leaders don’t simply hope they’ll respond well under pressure.

They quietly build the tools they’ll need long before the pressure arrives.

Because waiting until you’re drowning is a terrible time to start building a life raft.

What’s one tool, habit, or system you’re grateful you built before life got hard?

I’d love to hear what has carried you.

If this idea resonates with you or your team, I’d love to help. Through coaching, leadership development, workshops, or speaking, Transformationship Leadership Group exists to help leaders build the habits, tools, and systems they’ll be grateful they built long before the next storm arrives.

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