Have you ever watched one of those competition shows where teams race across the world? There’s always that one challenge involving a rowboat, and always one team that completely unravels.

They climb in full of confidence, grab the oars, and immediately start shouting directions. One rows left, the other rows right, both convinced they know the better way. The harder they try, the more the boat spins. Water splashes. Voices rise. Frustration takes over. You can see it happening in real time: effort without progress, motion without purpose.

It’s funny on TV, but exhausting when you’re the one in the boat.

That’s what tension feels like in the workplace. Everyone’s paddling, everyone’s working hard, but instead of moving forward, the team just keeps circling the same problem. No one’s lazy. No one’s wrong. They just can’t see that without alignment, effort becomes noise.

The longer it continues, the more it eats away at trust. People stop listening and start blaming. Conversations turn defensive. Small mistakes start feeling personal, and everyone begins guarding their energy instead of giving it. Before long, even the strongest performers begin to disengage.

What once felt like teamwork now feels like survival.
Progress slows, but exhaustion doesn’t.

And here’s the real cost, not just missed goals, but the quiet fatigue that sets in when you’re rowing with no rhythm and no direction. It’s the kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from effort, but from aimlessness. The harder you try to keep the pace, the more disconnected you feel from why you started.

That’s what happens when no one stops to realign. The team keeps moving, but no one’s sure where they’re going. The water gets choppier, the boat heavier, and the silence thicker. What was once motivation turns into muscle memory. You’re still rowing, just not toward anything that feels meaningful.

Influence is what changes that. It’s what reminds people where they’re headed and why it matters. It’s what builds enough trust for others to pause, listen, and re-sync their direction with yours. Without it, you can row harder, but you’ll just keep spinning, tired, divided, and still standing in the same place.