When asked about the decision to hand over the wheel to Barker, Coutts said that he enjoyed the view from off the boat. "When you're off the boat you look at it and you see the total concept. It was great to watch." The popular way to interpret a decision to give someone else the moment of glory in a great victory is to say, "What a selfless act". However, is this kind of act really selfless?
Yes, what Russell did was an act of fine leadership. Russell Coutts demonstrated confidence in Barker, faith in Team New Zealand, and the absence of a grab for adoration and personal glory. These values are good and healthy. However, they do not come from someone with less of a 'self'. Quite the opposite may be true.
If someone doesn't need the limelight cast by others, couldn't that be because there is an inner limelight present in the person? If someone doesn't need the glory of achievement, couldn't that be because the person already feels an inherent glory. If so, such inner light and inherent glory would make the external versions of these experiences redundant.
No, the act that astonished the yachting world, was not a self-less act but a self-full act . . . this act came from a self that is full of inner confidence, of self-esteem, and of inherent glory. Russell Coutts has given us an example of great leadership that provides a key insight into the condition of the self that underlies effective, values-based actions. Genuine sustainable fulfillment comes from developing a healthy self. That means a positive self-concept, the words we use to describe our self, a warm self-esteem, the feeling we have about our self, and a positive self-image, which is seeing our self as good. The healthy self creates the fulfillment of timeless, healthy values through the activities and relationships that are part of our daily life.
When Skipper Russell Coutts lets his understudy Barker take the wheel of the yacht, he watches the boat from a distance and says the experience was "marvellous". That is an experience a person with a healthy self can enjoy. He doesn't feel so incomplete or inadequate that he needs more of the limelight and glory that he already has. He feels so whole and adequate he can enjoy the success of the team.
Team New Zealand leader, Sir Peter Blake said after the race, "We are Team New Zealand and many people think 'team' is a strange little word, it's only four letters. But when you get people pulling together, it becomes a very powerful force indeed and these guys (Team New Zealand) epitomise this completely".
The quote by Sir Peter indicates that he can enjoy and be proud of the team and he feels so self-confident that he has no need to take credit. He basks in the appreciation he feels for them.
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