My Introduction to the Fundamentals of Great Leadership

 Learning that leadership begins when we move beyond ourselves to serve others.

An interview I did some years ago with Michigan Today, an alumni publication of the University of Michigan, reminded me that we are each on a unique journey through the jungle of life. Have we taken the time to reflect on that journey and what we can learn from it? Let me share some of the defining experiences in my life and see if you can find the same in yours. This first post reflects on the pivotal event that determined the trajectory of my life.

When I joined the University of Michigan football program, I was looking for a place to belong. Being from Connecticut, I knew no one in Ann Arbor. Michigan Football provided me with my first education in great leadership and an experience that would shape my life. Coach Bo Schembechler taught me that leadership begins when we move beyond ourselves, serve the team, and help others become their best.

Those Who Stay Will Be Champions

I entered the football program hoping to find my place. I emerged with the understanding that fulfillment comes from contributing to something larger than myself. It was my first experience of what I would later call the Shift from Me to Team.

My first experience with Bo came when he told us that 150 were trying out for the football team that spring, and that was too many. He shared, “I’m going to put you through the most difficult spring you’ve ever experienced in your life. But I promise you this: Those who stay will be champions.” And that’s where the now-famous statement came from.

We lost starters. By the end of the spring, we finished with fewer than 80 players, but it bonded us. We built a deep bond that endures today. Bo knew how to bring a team together. Being part of that was special. A special team is not for everyone, but for those aligned in service of something no one could accomplish alone, it is life-centering.

More than half a century later, that bond endures. When we gather again this fall for another reunion, we will not talk about the games we won. We will cherish what we endured together, what we learned from one another, and the leader who taught us what it means to put the team first.

Additionally, Bo’s deep care for each of us made us want to please him as if he were our father. He learned about each of our families and asked about them. Early on, he knew my dad was coaching the team my brother was on for the Babe Ruth World Series in Brawley, California. Every day, Bo asked how the team was doing.

In Service of the Team

Bo Schembechler was a natural, gifted leader. The human science I have learned that makes sustainable, thriving success possible was ingrained in Bo. He could not operate any other way. And I remain passionate about better understanding the principles and disciplines of humankind that create sustainable, thriving success. Once understood, perhaps each of us can better honor what enables leaders like Bo to have such a positive impact on so many lives.

In Service of Others

Bo lived his life in service to others. His legacy is built on the difference he made in people’s lives. He was tough, but you knew he loved you. He saw more in you than you saw in yourself.

Leadership is all about your “why you exist,” which, if honorable, motivates the right people to follow you. Leaders like Bo leave an outsized legacy after they’re gone because of the impact they had on others’ lives. They care and they serve.

This was my introduction to great leadership, and it became the foundation for the work my team and I have pursued ever since.

Questions

• What milestones have marked your professional journey?
• Who first showed you what great leadership looks like?
• When did you shift from pursuing personal success to serving something greater?
• What will your leadership legacy be in others’ lives?

Next

The next two September blogs will share more about this Purpose Awareness Journey we are all on and how we can live our best lives as our best selves.