Will…

This morning, during a little one on one BTL practice, I helped a client get some clarity. Clarity arrived when I asked him about his favorite movie – Good Will Hunting. He related to Will and the humanity of his struggle to figure it out while traveling along his Builders journey. You see, my client has a hard time giving himself enough credit for the good that’s gone his way but no problem blaming himself for what’s gone wrong. My client is off the charts responsible, you see. So, we talked. I mostly listened, in fact.

My normal tendency is to coach people to take more, not less, responsibility. Today, however, the story required that the script was flipped. So, it was. Your job, leader is not to be a brilliant teacher. We do not judge leaders on how much they know, do we?

Leaders are judged by how much the team learns.

What is your team learning, coach, from your tailoring of the message to them? Are you flexible in style while strong in your core? Are you curious before you’re challenging? Are you versatile and varied as are the teammates that make up your teams? Will was led by a brilliant leader who stuck to his disciplines, trusted his gut, and cared enough to let Will know it wasn’t his fault. Will’s leader was hunting for good and didn’t stop until he found it, and more importantly until his teammate found it too. Today, my client got the message from Good Will Hunting. I hope he realizes that he was the one doing the hunting all along. I hope he gives himself some credit for the clarity. It is, afterall, his Builders journey. He is the athlete, I’m just the coach in his corner. The same is true for you leader, isn’t it?

Live hard. Love harder…