Friends of Dave #156: The Gift of Humility
A reminder that, most often, effective leadership is bought, not sold.
Like many of you, I am fiercely loyal to my university alma mater, particularly its sports teams. So it has pained me over the past few years to see its (American) football team grossly under achieving on the field.
It became clear to fans that our head coach, though he possessed a big personality and talent for excessive bluster and coach speak, was quite inept at managing strategy on the field once the game started.
A few weeks ago, thankfully, a change in leadership was made. And after a nationwide search, a new head coach was selected. While he came highly regarded and has held key assistant positions in both the professional ranks as well as college, this is his first time leading an entire team.
With some more than mild interest, I watched the short press conference introducing our new, ambitious young coach. Within no more than five minutes of his introduction, I was a buyer. Not only did I come away energized about the future of the program, I also learned a surprisingly valuable lesson in what makes a strong leader.
In what was, no doubt, one of the biggest and most high profile moments of his professional career, the new coach showed something I did not expect: genuine humility.
He was humble in talking about each success he had along his journey. He took time to thank each mentor (by name) that helped him as he navigated his career path. He got emotional when describing his gratitude towards his parents, siblings, wife and young daughters (who were present) for believing in him when he had his own doubts.
And then he invited players, students, alumni and fans to join him to help make big things happen. "Get in" is what he said. This is how we were introduced to this man (who, interestingly, is now likely the highest paid employee at the school).
It would have been easy in these moments for him to spout cliches or thump his chest or make promises and tell everyone the things they wanted to hear. Instead, he chose to show strength by making himself vulnerable and accessible -- and asking for our help. And those who watched and were vested in the success of the program all had the same reaction: I am in.
Too often our leaders feel that they need to sell (and sometimes oversell) themselves and their accomplishments to show strength and get people follow them. But doing so really serves one main purpose -- to make the leader feel good and more confident about themselves. It has little to do with the followers.
Showing humility as a leader can have a much more profound effect -- it invites those that choose to follow to be invested as stakeholders in the leader's (and, ultimately, the team's) success. It also proves that people don't need to be sold on someone's ability to lead -- they will feel inspired to buy in on their own if the message is delivered genuinely. I think this is important for everyone who is tasked to lead people at one time or another to understand.
We don't know yet if this guy can actually lead a team to win football games. There are no certainties, particularly with a first time head coach. But I am pretty confident that he is going to do everything possible to figure out how make success happen. For that, I am willing to once again get in and get onboard....Hell, might even buy season tickets this year...
I'm taking it easy on the links this week, Friends. I know you've got last minute holiday preparations going on -- it's all good. You'll like the ones below if you have some time though, so check them out. And next week we'll have the usual year end wrap up edition so you can get caught up on the most popular links you might have missed from 2019.
Best to all of you and your families this week. Happy holidays and safe travels!
XOXO
Dave
Think on This...
What's a "Gut Feeling," Really? (And What Is It Telling You?)
Go with your gut. Trust your instincts. Find your true north. Regardless of the vernacular, interesting look at our love for romanticizing intuition.
A Couple For Your Day Job...
FedEx shareholders have woken up in an M. Night Shyamalan nightmare. Instead of seeing dead people, investors are haunted by Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans with an arrow the shape of a smile on their side. Everywhere.
In the next 24 months, FedEx will either be acquired or lose an additional 40%+ in value. If you find yourself looking to read one serious business article over the next week, this is a good one.
Your Weekly Dose of Holiday Randomness...
Think of it as a magic 8 ball, holiday style....
The Origin of Krampus, Europe's Evil Twist on Santa
Legend has it that throughout the Christmas season, misbehaved kids are beaten with birch branches or can disappear, stuffed into Krampus' sack and hauled off to his lair to be tortured or eaten.
There's a Reason You See the Same Women in All Those Hallmark Christmas Movies
A burning question I never knew I needed answered.....
Why thousands of Amazon packages converge on a tiny Montana town
A more serious and longer read than you usually get in this section, but worth it.
