Five Great Quotes From Coaches

I'll apologize up front, I have a background in athletics.  Sorry.  That being said, some of the greatest influences on me have come from things I've seen, heard or been a part of through athletics.  Here are five of the best quotes I've taken from coaches:

1.  "Focus on the process, not the results"  John Wooden, legendary basketball coach from UCLA.
2.  "The difference between who you are today and who you will be in five years will be as a result of the books you read and the people you listen to."  Lou Holtz, football coach.
3.  "The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender." Vince Lombardi, NFL Football Coach
4.  "Leadership, like coaching, is fighting for the hearts and souls of men and getting them to believe in you." Eddie Robinson, legendary football coach from Grambling.
5.  "Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve." Tom Landry, NFL Football Coach

The Evolution of the Principal;

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/11/the-principal-the-most-misunderstood-person-in-all-of-education/281223/

Leadership Tip of the Day (TOTD)

"Striving for excellence motivates you, striving for perfection is demoralizing."--Harriet Braiker.

I've always enjoyed this quote as a way to keep my perspective.  If you look at the second part of the quote first...perfection is elusive.  Often, when we think of excellence or success, we think that we have to be perfect.  Striving for perfection is setting yourself up for defeat.  The reason is simple.  Perfection cannot be attained.  Pretending that it can be, and making that your daily goal, will leave you frustrated, and eventually lead you to give up on whatever task you are trying to complete.

Striving for excellence is a different scenario.  You have to first decide what excellence is.  Webster defines excellence simply as "extremely high quality."  It doesn't say anything about being perfect or making no mistakes.  "Extremely high quality."  I can do that.  I can work hard and do my absolute best.  I can learn from trial and error to get better at any task.  Excellence can be attained.  The better I get at something, the more likely I will be motivated to continue to work at it to improve even more.
Malcolm Gladwell introduced the concept of "10,000 hours" in his book, Outliers.  He suggested that to become an "expert" in anything you had to put in 10,000 hours of practice or work.  You want to be a great writer?  Practice.  You want to be a great golfer?  Practice.  You must put in the work to be excellent.

Time to retrain your focus:  Don't worry about being perfect...work toward attaining excellence.  Be willing to put in the time to work toward "extremely high quality."

Lessons From The Geese 

by Dr. Robert McNeish (People with disabilities, parents, staff, businesses, etc., all need to work together. Synergy is the concept that when we all work together the end result is greater than if each of us acts independently. There’s a great deal to be learned from the teamwork shown in Lessons from the Geese.)

As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an "uplift" for the bird following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% more flying range than if each bird flew alone. Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another. 

Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the "lifting power" of the bird immediately in front. Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we will join in formations with those who are headed where we want to go. 

When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies at the point position. Lesson: It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership – with people, as with geese, interdependent with one other. 

The geese in formation honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. Lesson: We need to make sure our honking from behind is encouraging - not something less helpful. 

 When a goose gets sick or wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow their fellow member down to help provide protection. They stay with this member of the flock until he or she is either able to fly again or dies. Then they launch out on their own, with another formation, or catch up with their own flock. Lesson: If we have as much sense as the geese, we’ll stand by each other like that. 

Lessons from the Geese, was written in 1972 by Dr. Robert McNeish of Baltimore.  Dr. McNeish, for many years a science teacher before he became involved in school administration, had been intrigued with observing geese for years and first wrote the piece for a sermon he delivered in his church.

Leadership Lessons from the Dancing Shirtless Guy

This is a classic 3 minute video with lessons on leadership

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ

Who is on your Mt. Rushmore for "Leadership?"

I was listening to an ESPN radio show (Mike and Mike) a few months ago and they were discussing the Mt. Rushmore of all-time NBA greats.  It got me thinking in terms of who I thought were the four best leaders or people of influence in my mind.  So, without any further fan fare, I'll share my four choices and why.  Hopefully, it will illicit some discussion from you also!

1.  Abraham Lincoln- I realize this might seem a little cliche since he is ACTUALLY on Mt. Rushmore already!  Be that as it may...I don't think it gets any better than Lincoln.  I've always been a fan and I've read a lot more recently about him.  He was a humble, unassuming man that felt like he was doing the will of God at one of the most harrowing times in our American history.  Many would credit him with saving our country as we know it.  He's also know for his perseverance.  At least eight times he was defeated in elections or failed in business.  He suffered loss of son's through disease and death.  He faced many adversities in his life.  Throughout it all, he kept a humble servant's attitude and led with integrity.

2.  Winston Churchill- This is another example of a man who rose to prominence perhaps because of the circumstances he was in.  Churchill found himself as Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II.  He was perhaps one of the greatest motivators of his time (maybe of ALL time).  During a dreadful time when his country was being bombed into submission by the Nazi's, he was able to convince his countrymen to be determined, persevere and take pride in their country until the help could arrive.  He was also a very savvy politician that had enough confidence to "rock the boat" when necessary.

3.  John Wooden-Yes, a basketball coach.  Perhaps the best college basketball coach in history.  He won Ten National Championships at UCLA (7 in a row!).  His greatest mark to us all may be all the writing and speaking he did after his retirement.  He was a part of several books on leadership.  His "Woodenisms", such as "be quick but don't hurry" are still repeated and used often in leadership circles.  He developed his famous "Pyramid of Success" and defined success as the "peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable."  His influence has been felt on generations of leaders.

4.  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.- Civil Rights Activist.  Change Agent. Great Orator. You can refer to King with many different adjectives.  It takes a great person and a great leader to unite a group of people and organize them to have a voice to right a wrong.  Status quo is easy.  Change is difficult.  Some of the most powerful speeches I've ever heard were delivered by Dr. King. He started with a dream...and it became a movement...then it became a reality.

Those are my four choices.  I'd be interested in hearing yours!

My Favorite Leadership Books

The biggest reason I write this blog is to share information about leadership, whether it's my thoughts or the thoughts of others that I've come across.  I felt like I should take the opportunity to share the titles of books that I've read that I've learned great lessons about leadership from.  Perhaps you've read some of these...hopefully, you'll get some ideas about books that you can read to gain some knowledge and/or perspective.

1.  Lead...for God's Sake, by Todd Gongwer.  A fictional story about a journey into the heart of leadership.

2.  Good To Great, by Jim Collins.  Although this book is about businesses that continue to replicate success, there are many great principles of effective leadership.

3.  Wooden On Leadership, by Steve Jamison.  Jamison played for Coach Wooden at UCLA and this book outlines lessons on leadership gleaned from a player.

4.  The Essential Wooden, by Jamison & Wooden.  This book was basically written by Wooden.  This one is one of my favorites.

5.  The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John Maxwell.  Let me go on record that I've never read anything by "leadership guru" Maxwell that I didn't like.  However, this one is a good textbook for anyone new to a leadership position.  To puts names to a lot of leadership ideas you've probably already had.

6.  EntreLeadership, by Dave Ramsey.  Although Dave is a personal finance expert, this blueprint for running a business is full of great leadership insights.

7.  The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell, by Oren Harari.  This book contains great leadership principles.  It also contains one of my favorite leadership quotes, "The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them."

8.  Lincoln on Leadership, by Donald Phillips.  I'm a Lincoln nut!  If you admire Lincoln even a tiny bit, and you're in a leadership position...you need to read this!  It's a quick, practical read.

That's all for now...8 books to get you started.  The list of potential recommendations is long!  Perhaps another post in the future?