There is Greatness in Each of Us—But Together We Can Do More
The second post in our series encouraging you to look back on some of the pivotal moments in your journey through the jungle of life. Some of the defining experiences in my life touched on in this Michigan Today interview provide the springboard.
During his 30-minute interview with each football recruit, how was University of Michigan Football Coach Bo Schembechler assessing the young man in front of him? As part of my recruiting role, I provided Bo with statistics on each recruit’s potential success at Michigan, including film evaluations, height and weight, 40-yard dash time, high school GPA, and ACT and SAT scores. But he did not look at film or any of the metrics I gave him; he studied the person. What was he looking for?
Who Are You?
Even before the terms Values, Purpose, and Core Identity were commonly used in the professional world, Bo wanted to understand a few key points:
- Is this a team guy or a me guy?
- Can he be trusted to execute and take responsibility?
- Is he a likable person, someone you want to be around?
- Can he perform under pressure?
- Will he take coaching?
Bo knew there was a potential for greatness in each recruit, and he was a master at drawing out more from each person than they knew they had. His assessment of football players also applies to the foundation for our success as people, team members, and leaders. Evaluating someone on these criteria is much harder and requires more effort than using only the kind of metrics I provided to Bo.
Who are you when under pressure?
What is your foundation as a person built upon?
Leadership: Trustworthiness and Love
To get the best out of each team member, Bo knew the player first needed to trust him. He meant what he said and wouldn’t waffle on expectations. And he understood that players needed to know that no matter how demanding he was on the practice field, he loved each of them for their effort and dedication to the team. He cared about them as they were and who they could become.
We Want/Need Boundaries
Perhaps one reason the significance and power of clarifying our Foundation of Greatness, built on a Core Identity of who we are individually and collectively, is so evident in athletics is that a game is played within clear boundaries and rules. Beyond the out-of-bounds lines and clock, there is how you perform under pressure. Is it about you or about the team? Do you show up to practice early, on time, or late? Do you love being with your teammates? Can you be counted on to execute as you have been trained?
Watching Bo and other successful coaches made it clear that sustainable success rests on the principles identified above and on the individual’s competency to do the job. Coaches were also responsible for maintaining the boundaries within which a natural flow can be created. Sustainable success requires disciplined systems that enable the team to thrive, and leadership is responsible for them. Like being a great parent, we need to proactively address perceived out-of-bounds behaviors.
Great leaders have no days off. Someone is always testing the boundaries, much like our children. Each team member seeks security and wants to know that someone cares about them. The more mature a person is, the less boundary testing there will be. They get it and want to be part of something bigger than they could accomplish on their own.
Dig to See the Foundation
Assessing people and organizations by metrics is easy, perhaps even lazy. What matters is understanding a person’s Foundation of Greatness: who they are under pressure.
We have been blessed with mentors who have taught us to help our clients see who they are at their core and to thrive. Honoring who they are meant to be is a reward for us. We saw this joy in Bo when team members served one another to the highest standard and, most importantly, loved the journey to get there.
Questions
- When interviewing, are you looking only at credentials or the person’s foundation under pressure?
- Do you have clear boundaries and expectations that the team agrees to live by?
- Do you proactively address perceived out-of-bounds behavior that may confuse other team members?