My wife and I added an inflatable tandem kayak to our camper van adventures. It seemed like the perfect addition: compact, easy to store, and ideal for exploring lakes on our trips. Eager to try it out, we headed to a campground in the Arrowhead region for its inaugural outing on a lake.

As we unpacked and inflated the kayak, an older gentleman with the DNR watched from a nearby bench, clearly entertained by our rookie efforts. After some trial and error (and maybe a few head scratches), we got the kayak ready to launch. My wife and I were fully aligned: this would be a peaceful paddle, a chance to relax and take in the natural beauty of the lake and surrounding scenery.

But from the moment we started paddling, it was anything but peaceful. The kayak refused to go straight. We paddled left, and it went right. We paddled harder, and it spun in circles. We stopped and discussed (my wife discussed), but every correction made things worse. Frustration mounted as we struggled to coordinate and get back to the shore. When we finally returned to our launch point, we were disappointed, annoyed, and slightly baffled about what had gone wrong.

Later, after we had packed up and were on the road, the internal light bulb came on brightly.  I had forgotten to attach the skeg, the small but essential fin that helps the kayak track straight. I sheepishly turned to my wife and confessed.  After the “Look,” we laughed, knowing our next adventure would be successful.

The experience wasn’t just a lesson in kayaking; it was a perfect metaphor for leadership alignment and corporate governance.

In an organization, leaders are like paddlers: they set the rhythm and drive the effort. Governance, however, is the skeg; it keeps the team on course and ensures all that energy translates into smooth progress. Even the best intentions and hard work can result in confusion, frustration, and failure when governance is not in place.

Here’s what that day on the lake taught me:

• Preparation is Key: Like attaching the skeg before launching, ensuring proper governance structures is critical to any team’s success.
• Effort Without Direction is Futile: You can paddle as hard as you want, but you’ll go nowhere fast without alignment and structure.
• Admit Your Mistakes: When you mess up, own it. My sheepish confession to my wife turned a frustrating experience into something we could laugh about later and improve upon for the next adventure.
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Remember to check your "Skeg" whether you’re managing a team or heading out on your next camper van adventure. Alignment and governance might seem small, but they can make all the difference between a smooth, frustrating, or failed journey.