I don’t claim to be an expert in Judo nor do I practice Judo. What I do know is that it is a martial art discipline that relies heavily on flowing with your opponent’s resistance.

I was leading a group discussion the other day attempting to resolve a very difficult agency problem. A poor resolution could easily result in divided loyalties, back stabbing and loss of agency purpose. It was an emotional meeting to say the least.

At the end of one excruciating exercise, a member of the team challenged me by saying, “Why isn’t your division being reviewed?”

There were a lot of things going through my mind at that moment. The first thought was that I out- ranked the person and I could just respond by saying, “Because I’m in charge and I make the decisions.” Fortunately it was my actions that ruled the moment. I once heard a quote from a speaker talking on the subject of resistance. He said, “When spear thrown at head, move head.”  So instead of following my first impulse, I moved out of the way, figuratively.

Flowing with the resistance was the right choice. We proceeded to review my division and the problem solving energy continued to flow. The decisions didn’t get any easier, but the team remained steadfast in finding the best solutions.

As a leader it is often easier to use your position to make decisions. However, as the discipline of Judo tells us to flow with your opponent’s resistance, leadership Judo was the game winning move.