The Essence of Leadership

Attempting to define leadership is a lot like trying to hit a moving target. As business and society change, so do the expectations and traits of its leaders. Although the process of providing leadership is a dynamic and ever-changing one, its basic definition varies little: Leadership is the process of influencing others to accomplish an established mission by providing purpose, direction, and motivation.

What makes a great leader either on the field or in the boardroom? Distinguished leaders tend to possess and demonstrate a confluence of personal and professional attributes. Effective leaders tend to do things addressed in the following sections. [1]

[1] Reprinted with permission: True Leaders, by Bette Price and George Ritcheske. © 2001, by Dearborn Financial Publishing, Inc. Chicago, IL. All rights reserved. For more information call toll free: 1-800-245-BOOK.

Be Passionate

Without passion for the game of business and its purpose, it's easy to become complacent. When passion is lacking in leadership, it limits the motivation of others.

Few doubt that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner is extraordinarily passionate about the game. Sure, with a large local television contract and three million fans packing Yankee Stadium each year, he has the sport's greatest means in the nation's largest media market. Even with these advantages that make the Yankees a perennial World Series contender, Steinbrenner continues to spend millions each year in an attempt to acquire that last free agent that final piece of the puzzle before the team's final playoff push.

Steinbrenner's passion to make the Yankees the best at everything the team undertakes translates into a standard of excellence that exists even when Steinbrenner isn't around. His passion extends to manager Joe Torre, who instills the same passion with his team. Passionate leadership is not only embraced by those within an organization, but it can also be contagious, leading others to demonstrate important leadership skills.

Be Intuitive

Prominent leaders never underestimate the important role played by intuition. Years of management experience can make "going with your gut" an invaluable leadership trait.

Joe Montana, the 49ers quarterback who won all four Super Bowls he played in, also led his team to 32 fourth-quarter comebacks throughout his Hall of Fame career. He wasn't able to win these games by simply relying on the same plays over and over again. He won many of these games because, under intense pressure to perform, he was able to draw from his vast experiences to successfully improvise. Montana's improvisation would not have been nearly as successful had he or his teammates lacked confidence in his ability to achieve where others had fallen short.

Once Montana determined a course of action scrambling, throwing the ball out of bounds, or taking a rare sack he didn't second-guess himself. This contributed to his ability, under extreme duress, to deliver the perfect spiral that eventually moved the chains and allowed the team to emerge victorious.

Listen Carefully

By listening, renowned leaders facilitate dialogue and provide a forum for sharing ideas. Listening provides the opportunity to exchange meaningful feedback, making everyone in the process feel as if they are part of it.

Gavin and Joe Maloof, owners of the NBA's Sacramento Kings, go out of their way to be good listeners. Similar to Mark Cuban, owner of the Mavericks, the Maloofs appreciate that they alone cannot recognize or uncover every little detail that might be missing from their customers, the fans, total experience. They repeatedly make themselves available and ask the fans what they want and need to become and remain long-term customers. The Maloofs are so interested in learning what they need to improve that they are among the only owners who give out business cards to fans with their office and, on occasion, their cell phone numbers on it.

The Maloofs roam Arco Arena with an open-door attitude. Great leaders in the office don't go out of their way to sit far away from where the action in the office occurs. They make sure their door is open not only to the employees, but also find ways to have direct interaction with customers, whether it's through one-on-one interaction at shareholder meetings or simply reading occasional e-mail feedback. Thanks in part to their dedication to listening to the fans, both the Maloofs and the Kings, who fell one game short of advancing to the 2002 NBA Finals, have become industry leaders.

Have Integrity

Notable leaders continually demonstrate the ability to make just and right decisions, and do so courageously and truthfully.

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden will be remembered in the record books for winning 10 NCAA men's championships in 12 years and concluding a 40-year coaching career with an .813 winning percentage. Equally if not more important, Wooden will also be remembered for his commitment to being a consummate teacher and mentor to his players, athletes who he not only treated as students, but as extended family as well.

Wooden realized that he was a role model and made sure to conduct himself in a manner he would want his players to emulate. He became famous for his Pyramid of Success, a framework that helps demonstrate what Wooden believes to be the optimal balance to achieve success in life. The pyramid, elements of which include friendship, self-control, and competitive greatness, continues to serve as a framework subscribed to by sports and business leaders at all levels of their respective games.

Be Caring

Great leaders show that they care about those around them by identifying, embracing, and capitalizing on their strengths. Leaders not only uncover each individual's uniqueness, but also acknowledge and reward it, as well as seek to maximize it.

African-American track star Jesse Owens will always be remembered for taking home four gold medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, stunning Nazi leader Adolf Hitler in the process. However, Owens should also be remembered for what he did following the Olympics as a playground director in Cleveland and director of the Chicago Boys Club. Owens devoted his post-Olympic career to helping poor children living in downtrodden areas by helping them appreciate that sports could serve as a valuable outlet in their lives. Owens worked individually with these kids, encouraging and convincing them to become keenly interested in the sport that they most enjoyed or were good at playing.

Like Owens, great business leaders spend time observing what "sport" (i.e., business interest or skill) their associates are most adept at and enjoy playing the most. Like Owens, who demonstrated to children that participating in sports held great rewards, including being an alternative to mischief and potentially a way out of a troubled community, successful business leaders make clear to associates the rewards of doing the work they are assigned.

Think Strategically

Absent a strategic approach to the game, leaders compromise their ability to identify meaningful information and to spot important trends that help them see the entire playing field.

Amos Alonzo Stagg, the legendary football coach at the University of Chicago for 41 years (1892-1932), revolutionized the sport by recognizing the role strategy played in fielding a winning team. Stagg not only invented the huddle, the T-formation, the onside kick, and the lateral pass all of which helped his teams dominate the opposition but he also is credited with numbering plays and having his players wear different numbered jerseys. Such ingenuity made it quite difficult on his competition because each time the opposition played Stagg's Maroons they were trying to comprehend and adapt to his ever-changing innovations and strategies.

Because Stagg, from a strategic perspective, was constantly on the offensive, his opponents were routinely relegated to playing defense an exhausting and often losing proposition for many organizations.

Develop Trust

Successful leaders understand the importance of fostering trust throughout the organization. Not only does trust enhance commitment throughout the organization, it enables people to deal more realistically and effectively with winning and losing.

Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski isn't just a great recruiter. He also teaches his talented players to play through difficult situations. While many coaches call timeouts during every tough stretch, "Coach K" much like Lakers coach Phil Jackson often lets his players figure out how to get out of the situation themselves. Not only does this say to his players "I have faith in you," but it can also foster a measure of trust between the players and between the players and their coach. When the players lose in a system like this, there's less finger-pointing. When players emerge victorious, there are enough accolades for everyone.

Krzyzewski might have a talented team every year, but he also deserves credit for the system of trust he has established and passed along to generations of student-athletes.

Take Chances

Knowing how and when to take chances and the impact doing so will have on the organization and its people is an important skill shared by strong leaders. By providing support and encouragement along the way, the leader will gain buy-in when taking measured risk.

Brooklyn Dodgers president and GM Branch Rickey wasn't all that great of a player, but as a general manager with the St. Louis Cardinals, he invented the modern-day farm system, a concept that helped earn the team nine pennants and six World Series titles. However, the reason Rickey was named the fourth most influential person in 20th-century sports history by ESPN (behind Rozelle, baseball's first Commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, and Arledge), was because he had the self-confidence and the courage to sign the first African-American player, Jackie Robinson, in 1945.

At a time when desegregation was still 20 years away, not only did Rickey want to sign the best players possible in an effort to be competitive, but he admittedly wanted to make a statement with Robinson's signing, never fearing being ridiculed or scorned by others. Robinson, of course, became one of the top 50 players of all time and helped the Dodgers compete for the championship year after year.

Keep Learning

Eminent leaders realize they don't know it all. They recognize the talents of the people around them and appreciate that these individuals often have important perspectives on how to address critical situations.

Look at the sidelines during a Florida State Seminole football game and you will notice that head coach Bobby Bowden does very little active coaching or play calling. The septuagenarian legend is neither tired nor lazy. Nor is he so cocky about his team's ability that he believes he can simply strut the sidelines, occasionally giving live interviews to the press while plays are being run.

Rather, Bowden has mastered the art of surrounding himself with other great leaders, secure in his ability to delegate authority and create an environment in which decisions made by those under him are thoroughly supported by the team. He and his staff teach and learn from one another in extraordinarily public and pressure-packed settings. It is, therefore, not much of a surprise that Bowden's assistant coaches are also highly coveted each season by other teams who are looking to replace their head coaches.

Find Balance

When a leader fails to encourage a semblance of balance in the workplace, the organization often suffers greatly by incurring hidden costs, not the least of which is a demoralized team.

NFL referees perform some of the greatest balancing acts seen in the workplace. Unlike referees and umpires in the other three major sports, whose officiating duties constitute a full-time occupation, NFL officials work only part time due to the limited number of games in the season. However, this doesn't diminish their value or impact on the field. They spend most of the week at regular day jobs (as school principals, lawyers, doctors, golf pros, etc.) and part of each week studying film, reviewing their prior week's performance, and officiating games.

Former NFL referee Jerry Markbreit, who worked for 23 seasons and a record four Super Bowls, is one of the most recognizable officials in sports history. Markbreit, who served as the league's head of officials, sold and bartered advertising time for 3M during the week, but was always prepared to make the important calls on the weekends.

The leadership demonstrated by NFL referees doesn't suggest that one needs to have two real jobs. In essence, we all have at least two "jobs" that we need to balance, whether it's work and work, work and play, work and family, or work and rest. Influential leaders know how to best allocate their time to each of these professional and personal needs, and do so while inspiring others in the process.



On the Ball. What You Can Learn About Business from America's Sports Leaders
On the Ball: What You Can Learn About Business From Americas Sports Leaders
ISBN: 013100963X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 93

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