Bison Charge. Cattle Run.
Which One Are You?
Read Time: 3 Min
I grew up spending summers on my aunt's cattle farm in Kentucky. Which means I know one thing about cows with absolute certainty: they… are… slow.
So when I learned that cattle, upon sensing a storm approaching, turn away from it and try to outrun it? I laughed out loud… literally. Any animal trying to outrun a storm is going to lose. Cattle are going to lose badly. In their attempt to escape, they end up staying inside it far longer than if they had just stood still.
Bison are different. When a storm rolls in across the Great Plains, bison turn directly into it and charge. Hard and fast. They move through the storm quickly, shorten their exposure, and come out the other side before the cattle have even given up running.
"Avoiding difficulty almost always leads to prolonged pain — never to a solution."
I think about this every time I watch a supervisor avoid a hard conversation.
The Storm You're Running From
Most supervisors aren't cowards. They're just cattle. They sense the storm; the underperforming team member, the festering conflict, the feedback that needs to be given and they turn away. They tell themselves they're being patient. Strategic. Nice.
What they’re truly doing is extending their time in the storm.
Every day you don't address the thing that needs addressing, the cost compounds. The team member who needed honest feedback three weeks ago is now more entrenched in the wrong behavior. The conflict that needed a direct conversation is now embedded in the culture. The standard that needed to be held is now just a suggestion.
You didn't avoid the storm. You made it bigger.
Charging Smart, Not Just Charging
Here's what the bison analogy doesn't fully capture: charging into the storm without reading the situation first can cause damage of its own.
The question isn't only whether you run toward difficulty. It's which tool you pick up when you get there. Does this moment call for the management approach — direct correction, clear expectations, immediate accountability? Or does it call for the leadership approach — coaching, curiosity, a developmental conversation?
Reading that distinction accurately is what I call situational fluency. It's the skill that separates supervisors who create growth from those who only create compliance. Most of us were never taught this. We were promoted because we were great executors. We were rewarded for results, not for reading the room.
Your team is giving you signals constantly about what they need from you. The question is whether you're reading those signals or just reacting out of habit.
Your Move This Week
Name the storm you've been running from. You already know what it is.
Then ask one question before you engage: does this situation call for the management approach or the leadership approach? Direction or development? Correction or coaching?
That pause is the beginning of situational fluency.
