07 Oct KON TIKI “T3” LEADERSHIP: THOR HEYERDAHL

The visionary Norwegian adventurers and ethnographer, Thor Heyerdahl, was born October 6, 1902.  He treated oceans as bridges, not barriers.  Heyerdahl is most famous for his 1947 “Kon Tiki” expedition.  He sailed 5,000 miles across the eastern Pacific in 101 days on a hand-built 40-square-foot raft to demonstrate ancient peoples could have conducted long sea voyages from South America – Polynesia to establish contact between societies.  I read a book about the expedition in elementary school and wanted to be an adventurer!  A 1952 documentary film about Kon-Tiki  was awarded an Oscar.  During Heyerdahl’s “Ra II” expedition of 1970, he sailed 4,000 miles from the from the West Coast of Africa to Barbados in 57 days on a papyrus reed boat to again demonstrate the plausibility of his hypothesis for potential contact between ancient peoples.  Whenever I deliver a keynote speech about maritime courage and creativity, I reference him with an emphasis that one need not be a Naval Officer to be a maritime leader.  His bold, inspirational style included:

• TEAMWORK:   Heyerdahl’s theory became the rallying point and a shared focus for Kon Tiki’s six-man crew, which included five Norwegians and Swede.  All contributed essential skills to complete the mission: Navigation, Communication, Logistics and Engineering.  More important than their technical talents, they believed deeply in their mission.  The crew trusted each other implicitly as well.  According to Heyerdahl, “Trust is the distinguishing factor between a group of people and a team. Trust in the abilities of each individual in the team is the basis for everyone to rely on each other. The basis for trust is the individual’s assumption that everyone in the team means well for each other.”  Heyerdahl also learned of trust and teamwork with two fellow Kon Tiki shipmates who all fought the Nazis as part of the Free Norwegian Forces during WWII earlier in the decade. “I was in uniform for four years, and I know that heroism doesn’t occur from taking orders, but rather from people who through their own willpower and strength are willing to sacrifice their lives for an idea.”

• TONE:  “Dissidence and controversy are what bring science forward. Agreement and acceptance rarely stimulate experiments and progress.”   Now THAT Heyerdahl observation can be well applied to modern-day scientific and social dialog!

• TENACITY:  Emphasizing the value of hands-on hard work, Heyerdahl often declared, “Pearls rarely turn up in oysters served to you on a plate; you have to dive for them.”

The scientific community did not embrace much of Heyerdahl’s work, and he even compared his struggle with academia as one of David vs. Goliath.   Nonetheless, he dramatically increased public interest in history, anthropology and maritime environmental issues.  His long-lasting leadership legacy will be one of vision, creativity, courage, inclusiveness, humility and resiliency.  Thor Heyerdahl was a true exemplar of “T3” leadership!

– Rear Admiral Paul Becker, USN (Ret) is a leadership expert.  He is the CEO of The Becker T3 Group, a platform for his motivational and national security keynote speaking. A former Naval Intelligence Officer, he’s successfully led large, diverse, high-performing teams afloat and ashore in peace, crisis and combat.  In 2016, The Naval Intelligence Community established “The Rear Admiral Becker ‘Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity Award for Leadership” in his honor.