Coach "O" To The Rescue

“There haven't been many better "team" victories for USC! The effort and energy from the players & coaches made us all proud! It couldn't be more obvious how one man could elevate a program! Nice ups Coach O! #FightOn”

So I get psyched every time I look at this photo and read Coach Pete Carroll’s remarks.

And as a small business owner and therefore a lifetime leader-in-training, I know there’s a message the equivalent of at least a thousand words.

If I ever need to get back in touch with what engagement is, I’ll just look at this photo. And it’ll be easy because Coach “O’s” vertical leap will be hanging on the wall right next to my computer.

Damn, what if we could have that moment whenever we really needed it? Better, what if we could be that moment consistently? Thing is, access to the magic is just a choice we can all make. But how many of us can commit…even when the reward looks like lifetime health, wealth, teeth-whitening, and even unlimited double-doubles animal  style that actually lower triglycerides overnight?

Leadership in an Atlanta practice advisor’s phone call is setting up your team to succeed, empowering them to do what they do best, and then investing time, energy, and trust. My team craves structure and it’s up to me to generate a strategy to provide it even when, for me, developing systems is closer to my Kryptonite than my own DNA.

 And if you’ve declared that football or customer service or dentistry is going to be fun, you better start showing it…consistently.

I think my strongest commitment ever was getting into dental school. In the beginning, the goal seemed unlikely to everyone I knew except the people who really counted. My parents were the leaders in my life and they certainly invested time, energy, and trust (not to mention thousands of hard-earned dollars.)

My first undergrad quarter at Cal State LA was a disaster quantified with the number 2.13 and the letters GPA. At that point, I didn’t even give myself much of a shot at dental school.

But from the moment my Dad looked me in the eye and promised he’d do whatever it took to support my dream…only if I lived up to my potential, I never looked back.

For the next three years, I studied, worked in a warehouse, organized my time, and studied some more. If I’d been a monk, I would’ve had a more robust social life. If I’d been more focused, I would have made lasers look like ole Uncle Harold’s scratched up reading specs. And…I was happy.

I was happy because I was acing every class, every quarter. I was happy with my sense of accomplishment. Shucks, I was happy because my Selective Service lottery number was 40 and I was going to have a 2S draft deferment. But what made me happiest of all was that my leaders, my parents, had trusted me and I was coming through.

Leading supposedly happens when you follow Maxwell’s “21 Irrefutable Laws” or Covey’s “7 Habits.” But maybe the magic is all about appreciating the learning opportunities our human mistakes create. When you can look someone you love in the eye, tell ‘em you trust them, share the passion, empower them with responsibility, and celebrate the victories together, you’re a parent. And it struck me; that’s what leadership is.

And if you’re a coach or the president or even if you’re a small business owner, how you’re leading is only a mirror image away.

We all need a reminder from time to time. I needed one today.

Coach “O,” thanks for the lesson.