Stepping into the river

No man steps into the same river twice

There are two reasons that Heraclitus’ famous dictum is true. Firstly, the river has changed. It may be found in roughly the same spot and people might refer to the river by the same name as they always have. Nevertheless the water molecules are different, and the path and the banks of the river have also changed, even if only in imperceptible ways.

I live a few miles from the river Thames upon which London was created. In a few hours I can walk there from my home and if I was feeling brave I could dip my feet in. I do not recommend trying this - the Thames is dirty.

In many ways this is the same Thames that the Romans encountered a thousand years ago. Would a Roman centurion who waded across that Thames recognise this waterway were he transported through time? I imagine not - the shape of the river has altered drastically through time as the city has unfurled itself, notwithstanding that the waterline itself sits many meters higher than in their days. It is both the same river and a different one. This is true in a way even at the smaller timescale and every time I risk my health by dipping in the Thames I dip in two different rivers.

The second truth that we encounter with Heraclitus is that I am not the same man when I step into the river the second time. Like the river, I have been changed by circumstance. When I step into the river I carry with me the memory of having stepped in the first time, and everything that happened since then.

Heraclitus’ aphorism speaks to the inevitability of change, even in the realm of things we hold as constant.

My team version would be that no coach steps into the same team twice, for it is not the same team, and you are not the same coach.

Though the people may be the same one day to the next, their experiences, memories, and perceptions will have been changed by time and circumstance. Each problem a team solves will leave its mark. Each person’s home life will leave them a different person arriving at the office one day to the next.

So too you as the coach, manager or leader will be different stepping into that team. You may show up with expectations of what you can achieve and what you have done in the past, but you need the humility and the awareness to see how you change day on day, week on week, year on year.

If we treat our teams as if they will be static forever, we will be blindsided by change. If we recognise that a team is an ever-changing entity we can accept change and embrace it. Losing a knowledgeable team member? Great, it’s an opportunity for someone else to step into their shoes. Gaining someone new? Make sure you don’t just induct them, but initiate them. It feels like nothing has changed at all? Take a breath and prepare to be proven wrong soon.