Looking for a Leader
by Miki Saxon
I’m not a sports fan so I rarely read sports articles, but this one from ESPN’s Mike Reiss caught my eye. Although he was talking about the Patriots, I believe it is applicable on a much wider stage.
Have we gone leadership crazy? …
In an instant, got-to-have-it-now society, the knee-jerk conclusion that the Patriots lacked leadership seemed to be one that many rallied around. … But to lay the season’s struggles on that is overlooking the more important issues: The Patriots need more playmakers, management needs to be sharper in identifying and keeping that talent, and coaches need to be better at cultivating, scheming, and communicating with players when their situations get sticky… Start there, then factor in the importance of better locker-room chemistry, and you’ll have a more accurate reflection of what went wrong in 2009 and what steps the club needs to take in 2010 to improve.
No matter where you look, business or politics, you’ll find that most commentary focuses on the lack of/need for better leadership, especially when it comes to Washington.
Just think what a difference if our national political scene included
- more playmakers,
- managers who were sharper identifying and keeping talent,
- everybody better at cultivating and communicating, instead of scheming, and
- better locker-room chemistry.
Notice that the most important is listed last.
What a difference it would make in their ability to find viable solutions, instead of ideological posturing.
Image credit: HikingArtist on flickr
January 25th, 2010 at 2:22 am
Outstanding catch, Miki, and great commentary. There are a lot of fundamental management lessons in this.
Thanks!
January 25th, 2010 at 10:08 am
Thanks, Jim. I especially appreciate the unhappy truth of Reiss’ opening line, “Have we gone leadership crazy?” It is naive and even laughable to believe that one person can come in and change a situation without the support and cooperation of those involved—and yet we continue to do exactly that.