Success Principles – Page 14 – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

3 Leadership Lessons from the ‘Improbable’ Michael Strahan

Posted August 9, 2014
by admin

They do not love that do not show their love – William Shakespeare

Among the inductees in the NFL Hall of Fame Class of 2014 was the great Michael Strahan from the New York Giants. He joined fellow inductees Derrick Brooks, Ray Guy, Claude Humphrey, Walter Jones, Andre Red, and Aeneas Williams.

Strahan is the youngest of six kids and in his induction speech he said that he is absolutely an “improbable Hall of Famer,” and an “improbable football player.” The son of a career Army man, Strahan did not grow up playing football. He received a scholarship and attended Texas Southern University where he learned to play. Another “improbable” moment later came when he was drafted by the New York Giants.

Michael Strahan played defensive end for the Giants for 15 years. He set the NFL’s single-season record for the most sacks (22.5) in 2001. He played in 216 games for the Giants and had a career 141.5 sacks (5^th all-time in the NFL). His final game for the Giants came in 2007 with a win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

In listening to his Hall of Fame induction speech you can’t help but hear the love not just for the game of football but for the people he credits for his success. From coaches and teammates that spanned the various generations of his illustrious career, Strahan took time to recognize them all. Here are three leadership take-aways from Michael Strahan that are worthy of a closer look.

It’s not when you begin but how

Strahan trained and conditioned in Germany. He didn’t take up the game of football until college – in Texas. By that time most of his peers had considerable experience that would seemingly put him at a disadvantage. But he worked hard and learned the game and had to be teachable.

As a leader it isn’t about when you begin but how. If you work hard, are willing to learn and apply yourself, then there is no goal in your sights that you can’t reach. Your age or lack of experience is no match for a positive attitude and strong work ethic.

Improbable doesn’t mean impossible

By all accounts Strahan possessed every disadvantage imaginable when he started out. His lack of experience would surely put him at a disadvantage. Or would it? Learning and excelling at the game while in college and being drafted into the NFL was even more improbable. But he did it.

Strahan joins the company of many others who would have been labeled as “improbable” by any other standard or measurement. Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper for “lacking ideas”. Steven Spielberg dropped out of high school and applied to three film schools but was unsuccessful due to his “C” average. President Harry Truman was rejected by the U.S. Military & Naval Academies due to his poor eyesight. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. What does Michael Strahan share in common with all of these people? He refused to be labeled and refused to give up. All successful leaders do this.

Humility is refreshing

For all the success that Michael Strahan achieved in his NFL career there is something quite refreshing about not forgetting those who helped and sharing he credit. Strahan was remarkably generous in paying homage to those who helped him. Striking in his remarks was in how he acknowledged predecessors like Lawrence Taylor and Howie Long. What was honorable was the way in which he proclaimed his love for his parents and proudly admitted to being a “momma’s boy”.

The road to success is long and hard and the bonds you forge with those around you who share the journey make it all worthwhile. When you can remain enough humble to learn, at any age or at any stage in your career, it’s a leadership quality worthy of respect and emulation.

While Strahan’s journey was on a stage for the entire world to see and enjoy it’s not unlike countless others who can and will do the same. Likely far removed from the spotlight and fanfare of a Strahan-like career, you will serve with the same degree of passion and purpose.

It’s important to remember these three lessons: it’s never too late to reach for your dreams; improbable circumstances don’t define you – they only indicate your starting point; humility is never out of style and will always serve you well. Thank you, Michael Strahan, for reminding us.

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Leadership Minute: One of Those Days

Posted August 8, 2014
by admin

Accept that some days you are the pigeon and some days the statue. – Dilbert

If you hang around in leadership long enough you will come to know this truth. It comes with the territory and it’s not always glamorous. Leadership is hard and is not for wimps. The action you take today will make some love you and some hate you. Your decisions tomorrow can turn the tables the other direction. As a leader you are an easy target- and some days, well, some days you are the statue. But your longevity as a leader will not defined by how well you played to the crowd and tried to be a people pleaser. What makes you a leader that lasts and stand the test of time is to stand strong during times of testing. What’s at stake is not about your popularity but your principles. If you sacrifice one for the other you will always be the statue. Come what may- good or bad, be a leader who stands tall and with honor for doing the right thing, the right way, at all times.

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Leadership Minute: Who Are You Thankful For?

Posted August 7, 2014
by admin

No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude. – Alfred North Whitehead

As you look back over the span of your life as a leader I’m sure there are people along the way who made an impact. Do you remember them? They are the ones who befriended you in a new job. They helped you grow and develop your confidence. They stood by you and believed in you when no one else would. They gave you correction when you needed it and patiently gave of their time to help you grow and become the leader you are today. Expressions of your gratitude are in order. Why not reach out and reach back to say thank you to those who were kind enough to help you? Perhaps you can give them a call or send them a note expressing your gratitude. Life is too short and leadership too hard not to pause now and then to remember, reflect, and give thanks for where you are and for those who helped you. Who are you thankful for?

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Leadership Minute: Blind Spots

Posted August 6, 2014
by admin

Blind spots: Every organization has them; only few are willing to point them out. – Scott Williams

One of the most important things you can do as a leader in your organization is to have honest dialogue about blind spots. Every organization has them as does every leader. A good exercise you can utilize in your organization is to bring your team together for some honest evaluation. Better yet, bring in trusted outsiders who can tell you what you need to hear and help you navigate your way forward. Blind spots are not weaknesses unless you avoid them. Dare to know and embrace the truth with the attitude of making corrections. If you bury your head in the sand regarding your blind spots your competitors will take advantage of you. The first step in the process is a willingness on your part as the leader to identify your own blind spots so you can lead with clarity and purpose. Your effectiveness as a leader depends on you seeing what others see. You don’t have to be blindsided by blind spots. Lead with your eyes open.

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Leadership Minute: The Power of Your Influence

Posted August 1, 2014
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Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other peoples’ interests first. – Bob Burg, The Go-Giver

Influence is a by-product of your leadership. It’s also the blessing of your leadership and it comes with a powerful responsibility. Every day you have the opportunity to make an impact in the lives of people around you. You are not in your place of leadership just to occupy space or for it to be self-serving. You are there to serve and help others. When you use your influence with abundance it tends to have a reciprocal effect. When you are generous with your influence – be it as a mentor, helping someone make an important connection, being involved with a charity in your community, etc. it all comes back around on you in positive ways. The measure of your leadership will be determined in part by what you did with your influence. When you use your influence to lift others up you are raising the level of your leadership. Give generously.

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Leadership Minute: The Right Path

Posted July 31, 2014
by admin

Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one. – Grandmother Willow, Pocahontas

Not all of your decisions as a leader will be easy. Sometimes in making the right decision you are making the harder one. The unintended consequences of the right decision can cause you to question if it was the right choice. Understand this; while there is great fulfillment in leadership it often comes at a price. Doing the right thing is the result of living the right way. When choosing which path to take don’t always look for the easy one. Not every path will be hard and not every choice will be difficult. In the end, what matters is that you are willing to make that choice. At the end of the day the question is not whether you made the hard choice or the easy choice but whether you made the right choice. Regardless of the outcome let the decisions you make and the paths you walk be driven by what’s right; not what’s easy.

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Leadership Minute: Are You Listening?

Posted July 30, 2014
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The best way to listen is with your mouth shut. If you’re talking, you’re not listening. – Jesse Lyn Stoner

One of the most essential leadership skills you will ever develop and always use is the skill of listening. Are you hearing me? By listening you know what the other person is thinking, feeling, processing, and wrestling with. This skill is perfected when you are totally engaged and committed to hearing what the other person has to say. Listening can be rather casual at times. One tends to get the feeling you are not listening when you are glancing at your smart phone every two minutes or if you keep interrupting them. The art of listening and hearing the other person is saying happens when you give yourself fully, for however long, to the other person without interruption. Never underestimate the power of listening and for the value that it adds to your leadership. You not only are doing a service to the other person involved but you are growing your skills in the process. So do yourself a favor and listen up!

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Leadership Minute: Make Peace With Your Past

Posted July 29, 2014
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Oh yes, the past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it, or…learn from it. – Rafiki, Lion King

One of the greatest hindrances to your leadership today and that of your future can be things from your past. While you can’t go back change it you can adapt new ways of dealing with it. Perhaps you did some things that you are not proud of or someone hurt you and you are holding on to resentments. It could be a failed relationship or business that has turned your attitude the wrong way and it is affecting your leadership today. While you can’t go back and have a do-over, you can embrace new behaviors and attitudes today that can help you. The past is the past. You can learn from it but it is a choice you have to make. When you let go of the past; forgive, forget, and move on- you can experience the freedom that comes from a fresh new outlook on life. Make peace with your past.

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Leadership Minute: Venture Out

Posted July 28, 2014
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Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it. – Rapunzel, Tangled

Living your leadership to the fullest begins when you step outside your comfort zone. It can be quite tempting to stay in your comfortable place where things are predictable and safe. But your growth comes when you dare to shed the comfortable surroundings and venture out. You can do this by setting new and more demanding goals, making new friends, or by reading new books that stretch your beliefs. When you venture out you will meet new and exciting people who are exploring just like you. You will soon discover that the reasons you were afraid to venture out were not as bad as you thought they were. In fact you will wish you had done it sooner. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead; venture out, get uncomfortable with being comfortable and grow a little. The rewards of new growth will do you good.

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Leadership Toolkit: When the Visionary Leader Meets the Strategic Leader

Posted July 26, 2014
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Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. – Warren Bennis

About 350 years ago, as the story is told, a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.

In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build the road westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?

Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome hardships to get there. But in a few short years were not able to see five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision.

Visionary leaders (those who see the big picture) and strategic leaders (those who create the plan) are essential for the future growth and development of any organization. But can the two co-exist? It can be a challenging relationship but not an impossible one if you follow these basic rules of engagement.

Embrace your differences

Visionary leaders tend to be your charismatic type leaders who can cast the vision with great enthusiasm and confidence. They have a clear picture in their heart and mind of where they are going and why you should too.

But visionary leaders can at times be hard to work with. In his book, Rules of Thumb, Alan M. Webber writes, “Great idea people are rare- and also frequently hard to live with. They see things the rest of us can’t see, which is their gift. They can’t see what you and I see easily, which is their burden. Still, you need them and they need a home where they can contribute.”

Strategic leaders can be a great asset to the visionary leader by breaking down the vision into doable and measurable action steps which creates the vision. The strategic leader is the one who puts the puzzle together.

Leadership key: Your differences are your strengths. Embrace them and work together. You need each other.

Build a bridge

What strategic leaders and visionary leaders need is a way to connect. The divide between ideas and implementation must be joined. There has to be a way as Webber says to “build a bridge the great ideas can walk across from those who have to those who can make them real.” For the vision to materialize this is a necessity. So what is a leader to do?

The vision needs a strategic plan. It has to be clearly communicated and thoroughly understood before the pieces of the puzzle can be created. From there roles can be assigned and teams put into place, and the execution can begin. The hard part will come later.

Leadership key: Before you build your vision build your relationships. The vision rises and falls on the strength of your communication and relationships.

Give each other space

The role of the visionary leader is not the same as the strategic leader, and vice versa. The relationship is one of isolation and interdependency. Boundaries must be set, observed, and protected while at the same time staying bridged with a unified goal and vision. It’s tricky.

The temptation of the visionary leader is to tinker, mettle, and tweak. Their greatest asset can now become their greatest liability. While they are excellent at creating the vision they can be terrible at designing the plan. As long as they keep interjecting themselves into the details of execution they will stifle the execution.

Strategic leaders thrive on creating the plan and seeing it come into existence. The visionary leader has to learn to give this person the space they need to work. It is a relationship of necessity, one of complexity, but most of all trust. The partnership will only survive if it’s built on mutual trust. The respective leaders have to know how to embrace a shared vision but then give each other the space needed to bring it to pass. When they do it can lead to overwhelming success.

Leadership key: Out of respect give each other space. Out of trust let each other work.

What do you say?

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