Coaches lead and teach leadership. There's no shortcut, no cookie cutter leadership course. Studies have never shown an ideal skillset or pathway. Leadership books fill libraries but each of us defines our leadership vision.
We know authentic leadership when we see it. Every great coach excels at leadership.
Ethical leadership translates into positive actions. Authentic leadership gets the buy in making David Cottrell's "the main thing is the main thing." The main thing informs values and elevates organizations (family, team, community, business, government). It takes little imagination to recite toppled dictators and messianic "leaders" - Hitler, Duvalier, Ceausescu, Jim Jones, David Koresh.
Unethical leadership collapses under its own weight. As Lincoln said, "you can fool all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time."
Leaders have stories. They often overcame difficult circumstances. Son of Greek immigrants, P. Roy Vagelos grew up during the depression. After a research career in medicine, he became CEO of Merck. Merck developed and distributed freely a drug to treat River Blindness (Onchocerciasis) in Africa. Patients couldn't afford ivermectin but Vagelos made an unpopular (among shareholders) executive decision to give the drug away, extinguishing River Blindness as a public health problem for tens of millions of Africans. In the end, Merck's philanthropy also opened new markets (including Japan) that led to profits that dwarfed Merck's generosity. Doing the right thing led the company to be seen as doing business right.
Leaders are consistent. Their private actions do not shame their public behavior. Leaders collaborate and balance extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. "Are we building a program or a statue?"
Leaders make leaders. Leaders have a vision of both successful end state and intermediate stages. Followers adopt both the vision and the know how to fulfill the execution combining people, strategy, and operations.
Leaders work on themselves. Most of us have experienced working with excellent coaches and leaders. They led from the front, developing their craft in education, business, or sport through study and metacognition. "Metacognition is, put simply, thinking about one’s thinking. More precisely, it refers to the processes used to plan, monitor, and assess one’s understanding and performance. Metacognition includes a critical awareness of a) one’s thinking and learning and b) oneself as a thinker and learner." Analyze our inventory of strengths and weaknesses and how we enhance our strengths and mitigate our weaknesses.
Leaders are positive and optimistic. No great leader traffics in negativity and derision. Optimism drives experience and expectations. Optimism helps defeat fear and anxiety. Optimists perform better under pressure and live longer. Optimists focus on solutions not problems.
Leaders derive strength and support from others. John Calipari has his Personal Board of Directors. Bill Belichick has Ernie Adams.** Nick Saban has Jimmy Sexton. Steve Kerr shares the importance of mentors. Bill Walsh had a love-hate relationship with Paul Brown. In Gridiron Genius, Mike Lombardi shares thirty years of experience working with Al Davis, Bill Walsh, and Bill Belichick.
If we want to be better, invest time with better people, better learners, better teachers.
There's no Holy Grail of leadership training. Earn leadership every day.
Lagniappe: "Failure is an option." To move ahead, overcome failure.
Happy Father's Day!
** I played baseball with Milt Holt in college.
