Leadership and Deer Hunting: the Relationship

I am one who likes to deer hunt. Many people have the idea that people who hunt enjoy the harvesting of the animal. Many folks who hunt actually enjoy the time out in the woods watching the relationship between the variety of things in nature.

In the past year, I have continued to study leadership. I strongly believe that there is a big difference between leadership and management.  There are many things that leaders must possess in order to be successful. Some of these things, I believe are God-given and others are a learned behavior. This past year while deer hunting, I discovered that there are many things that hunting which can teach me about leadership.

One of the biggest things I need to learn to be a better leader is to reflect. I have been working on this in one aspect of my life which is my time with God. I set aside time each morning to read my bible and then to have a quiet prayer time to reflect about what is going on in my life and what God is speaking to me through his Word.  I still need to find time at work to reflect daily on what is going on in regards to my work life. Deer hunting is a great way to learn how to reflect. You spend many hours alone in the woods where you can reflect about your life and your success and failures in the woods. Another aspect of reflecting with deer hunting is thinking about what you could have done differently to be more successful every time.

Deer hunting, for me, is a great way to remember that every action has a consequence. This year I saw the biggest buck I have seen in the woods while hunting. I first saw a doe come down the hill from some thick brush. A few minutes later, the biggest buck I ever saw came down the hill following her. I drew my gun in my excitement and shot. The buck ran off and to my dismay, I did not bring the buck down. In reflecting on this situation, I learned several things. One is that I should have waited a few minutes later to insure I had a good shot. A second thing, was that because I was so excited, I didn’t think of the consequences by not making sure I had a good shot and lost the buck of a lifetime.

For me the best thing that I can do to become a better leader is to examine myself in my strengths and weakness. (Knowing that always using your strengths can turn them into a weakness.) I try to examine myself in all aspects of my life and learn or hone skills that I think I need to improve as a leader. Deer hunting while a hobby of mine gives me an opportunity to improve my leadership skills.