Building leaders is REAL, HARD, WORK. Building leaders, just like building teams, cannot be accomplished without the help of a builder. Faux leaders are everywhere because faux coaches/mentors/builders are in endless supply. Cheerleaders masquerading as coaches, won’t get Y.O.U. anywhere. Real builders are demanding and tough. Real builders demand excellence in all kinda small things. Small things matter.
John Wooden, the wizard of Westwood, was one of the quietest examples of toughness you could study. Every year he demanded excellence in everything starting with how you put your socks on. Less than perfect sock administration led to blisters, he believed. His team practiced putting their socks on, his way. Every year, over and over, Coach Wooden would painstakingly pull on a pair of tube socks the right way. Are you serious, Coach?
Today, in practice 13, we practiced demanding operational excellence with a team that is already pretty good. We dug for some small insights to improve.
We went digging.
We got to the root of the problem. We didn’t focus on the poor in bounds pass that resulted in a turnover, the fatigue that proceeded it, or the blister that clouded the players judgement with pain. We focused on the deep “why” behind the mistake. We dissected the disconnect and found the root wasn’t with the players performance. The root, you see, was found in the Leader. The leader was a bit soft and undisciplined in a few small matters. The leader wasn’t demanding PA (productive action) with an edge to it. He was assuming his teammates had perfected a piece of the operational scorecard. His teammates had assumed skipping a small step didn’t really matter. Small things matter.
Today, a couple CEO’s got a bit tougher without raising their voice, tossing a chair, or dramatically altering their leadership style. They got tougher by finding a small thing and deciding on a PA to make it better. Their teams are getting better because these two leaders are getting better.
Building leaders sounds like such a nobel ideal until you actually attempt it. Building leaders is REAL, HARD, WORK. Building leaders requires that the builder is tough, demanding, and focused on small steps that matter. Building requires the builder to understand the system, the person, the relational networks and all their tendencies at a depth that enables him to dissect complexities and make them as simple as possible.
Building, in other words, is a bitch. There is nothing easy about improving the performance of a high performer. You gotta love the process and the person. And, as your love deepens for both so will your ability to be tough and somehow tender at the same time. Your team needs your help in dissecting their complex situation, getting ’em to the real roots, and finding the most productive way forward. Leaders help their teammates find the small steps that matter. And, leaders demand small steps are taken. Leaders understand there are no silver bullets or giant steps that leapfrog us forward. Small steps matter. Leaders focus here.
Are Y.O.U.?
BUILT TO LEAD 