DIVING & TRUST
By Lea Brovedani “The Trust Architect”
ON BIG BLEND RADIO: Lea Brovedani “The Trust Architect” talks about her diving adventures around the world, and how trust relates to hiring a diving guide. Watch here in the YouTube player or download the podcast on PodBean.
Spiros Papakastrisios, our divemaster for the day, was also the owner of Blue Adventures Diving in Chania, Crete and he was leading us on a 6-cave dive. I told him it was my birthday and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate it than go cave diving. Spiros promised to make it special.
The dive boat was an inflatable cigarette boat which meant there wasn’t enough room to take anything but our tanks, BCD (Buoyancy Compensation Device … it looks like a life vest but holds your tank), masks, and fins. After a short 20-minute ride, we were over at the dive site. We were all instructed to do a backward roll off the boat into the water.
When I looked down, I couldn’t see anything but the ocean floor except for one small black spot. From the surface, it looked like a shadow on the ocean floor. We were no more than 20 feet down when Spiros stopped and indicated that we were at the opening of the first cave. It was the dark shadow I had noticed from the surface. The opening was no bigger than a small coffee table and it was dark like I mean a black hole that reflects no light at all. I could hear my Darth Vader breathing speed up as I anticipated what we would discover. There was nothing to indicate there was anything beyond more blackness and I could feel a thrill of excitement course through my body. The anticipation of the unknown was tempered by the trust I had in a person I had only met that morning.
The opening to the cave was narrow enough that we couldn’t enter it at an angle. It was head straight down and trust that our divemaster knew what waited for us. I turned on my flashlight and I could feel pressure in my ears as I dove straight down through the narrow tunnel and eventually into a larger cavern.
Lea diving
When you’re underwater, communication is through signals you learn in class. If you’re going to experience an unusual situation you’re debriefed on shore. Spiros communicated what we could expect throughout the dive, so the only surprises were pleasant ones. He let us know that he was committed to giving us a spectacular diving experience but keeping us safe was #1.
A special treat was diving through a halocline, a mixture of fresh water and salt water into an open cavern where we were in a cave but above water. Spiros led the group in singing Happy Birthday.
For one hour we swam through caverns and caves, saw stalactites and stalagmites, fields of coral that looked like lilies, and experienced beauty that only exists underwater.
More than any other sport or activity I’ve done, diving demonstrates everything I teach about trust. Before I venture into the water, I’ve established that the person I’m going with is someone I can trust and I do that using my 5 tenets.
CARING..COMMITMENT..CONSISTENCY..COMPETENCE..COMMUNICATION
Lea is a speaker and workshop facilitator on trust who is recognized as a Top Thought Leader on Trust for by the organization Trust Across America and is the author of “TRUST Me – Restore Belief & Confidence in an Uncertain World” and “TRUSTED – Secret Lessons from an Inspired Leader.” Listen to “Trust Talk with Lea” every Third Thursday on Big Blend Radio. More: https://leabrovedani.com/
