Those old enough to remember Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi will understand this. Those who do not know about Lombardi may find it useful to read about him.
Vince Lombardi was a legendary coach, the winner of the first Super Bowl and an icon of football history. Lombardi didn't have the largest payroll in the NFL. He didn't have the most talented players. What Lombardi was able to do was mold a group of young men into an army of over-achievers. He accomplished this through discipline and elevation.
Many in business talk about Servant Leadership and have the concept that it is a soft management system. That is not true. Vince Lombardi was a Servant Leader, even though he likely would have huffed at the suggestion of him being so. However, he surely was.
Lombardi famously required bed checks during training camp. He would pull his players out of taverns in Green Bay and enforce a high code of discipline. That doesn't sound like Servant Leadership, now does it? Well, it does.
Vince Lombardi expected the best of everyone around him. He lived the life he expected others to live. Coach Lombardi dis not say "winning isn't everything, its the only thing". That was a remark from his daughter who was accosting him for his hard work and demanding style. Coach understood people and was kind and fatherly to his players and every other human he came in contact with.
The players he had to discipline the most thought of him as a second father. Running back Paul Hornung and receiver Max McGee couldn't say enough good things about the man who rousted them out of partying. Lombardi knew how great they could be. Hornung is in the NFL Hall of Fame and McGee is best known for his seven receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns in the first Super Bowl. Lombardi was also instrumental in the development of Bart Starr as one of Wisconsin's most-beloved sports figures and most-respected men of charity and business. Most of Lombardi's players went on to become successful in business, due to the elevating but demanding style of Coach Lombardi.
In business, education or parenting, it is important to let those you are leading know you care about them. Wishing for them to be the best they can be is a positive form of encouragement. If your expectations are driven by a desire to see others prosper, you will climb life's ladders of achievement with them. A Servant Leader cares more about the success of those on the team then they do themselves. Therefore, there is only straight and from the heart communication. There is no manipulation or control. There is only love. It may be tough love, as Vince Lombardi practiced, but it is still love.
In the movie classic, White Christmas, Bing Crosby's platoon reconnected at a New England lodge to honor their commanding officer in WWII battle. The "Old Man", as he was referred to, was noted for sacrificing his own safety and comfort for his squad. The men knew the "Old Man" loved them and would give his life for any of them. Being such a leader builds loyalty and a greater outcome. Be like that officer. Be like Coach Lombardi. Be strong. Be tough. Be out for the welfare of those you lead. The law of reciprocity says, they will also be looking out for you!
Lyrics from White Christmas:
"We'll follow the old man wherever he wants to go Long as he wants to go opposite to the foe
We'll stay with the old man wherever he wants to stay Long as he stays away from the battle's fray
Because we love him, we love him Especially when he keeps us on the ball
And we'll tell the kiddies we answered duty's call With the grandest son of a soldier of them all"
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