Imagine this.

Your division or department is a sailing ship, moving across open water.

Now picture yourself on that ship as you reflect on your behaviour over the past week.

With that image in mind, ask yourself:

• Were you the Wind, a good wind, helping propel the ship forward toward better performance and stronger working relationships?

• Were you a Passenger, simply going along for the ride?

• Or were you an Anchor, holding the group back?

When people do this reflection honestly, most place themselves in the Passenger category. A few recognise moments where they may have acted as an Anchor.

Very few see themselves as the Wind.

And yet, every workplace could use more of it.

What it means to be the Wind

Being the Wind isn’t about status or authority.

It’s about behaviour; small, deliberate actions that move the group forward.

Wind-like behaviour looks like this:

• At a conference or offsite, helping bring others back into the room after a break – not just yourself.

• In a meeting, quietly supporting the chair by encouraging a more reserved colleague to speak, because you know they have something valuable to add.

• At a networking event, noticing someone standing alone and introducing them to others.

• Suggesting a short, controlled stretch break when energy drops after long periods of sitting.

None of these actions are heroic.

All of them are outward looking.

They reduce friction.

They increase momentum.

They improve camaraderie.

Own the Conversation

In the coming week, on purpose, choose one moment to be the Wind.

Just one.

Then notice:

• how the group responds

• how the energy shifts

• how it changes your own sense of contribution