• LEADERSHIP

    by  • November 10, 2011 • Uncategorized • 0 Comments

    Impossible Leadership

    Have you ever seen anyone perform the impossible? We’ve all heard stories about the impossible; about superhuman strength during time of duress; about Cinderella stories; and of course, leaders that accomplish the improbable and the impossible. What can leaders learn from this? How do we harness this magic?

    • In 2006, a Quebec woman wrestled a large polar bear that she saw a coming towards her son and another boy while they played. She tackled the polar bear and fought it while the boys ran for help. While she suffered some wounds, the polar bear ultimately lost the fight when she fought the bear off long enough for someone to shot and kill it.
    • In 2009, a Kansas man saw a car run over his neighbor’s 6 year old daughter. Without thinking, he ran over to the girl and pushed the car off the injured girl.
    • In Tucson, Arizona, a man witnesses an accident where a Chevy Camaro ran over a bicyclist. He lifted the 3,500 pound car off of the injured cyclist and held it for nearly a minute while the biker was pulled to safety.

    Notwithstanding the extreme examples that are provided above, we can still learn lessons in impossible leadership. Here are some:

    Buster Douglas versus Mike Tyson

    Buster Douglas faced a heavyweight fight with champion Mike Tyson. Everyone presumed this would be a characteristic quick knockout victory for Tyson. Douglas’ mother had died only 23 days earlier. Amid his stress and grief, Douglas trained hard and was able to use the advantage of his 12-inch reach. Douglas stood tall and his jabs landed relentlessly on Tyson causing the champion to back up. By the 10th round, Douglas knocked Tyson down with a well-placed uppercut to become the new heavyweight champion.

    Green Bay Packers – Vince Lombardi

    Legendary Coach Vince Lombardi is regarded as one of the best coaches in history. He became the head coach of the Green Bay Packers after they finished a season with one win and ten losses. Believing in the importance of physical conditioning, he established a rigorous training camp program. In his first season, the improved team finished with a 7-5 record. At the end of his second year, he took the team to the championship and nearly won but saw his only post-season lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. He went on for the next two seasons to lead Green Bay to NFL Championship.

    The examples above had three things in common:

    •   They prepared.
    •   They believed.
    •   They executed.

    Impossible Leadership requires preparation. You must study, do background work, perform analysis, and understand the context. Lombardi was known to have a brutal training camp. Yet, his players were always in the best condition to execute the game plan he put forward.

    You have to believe that what you want to do can be done. In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill provides the following verse about the importance of belief:

    If you think you are beaten, you are,

    If you think you dare not, you don’t

    If you like to win, but you think you can’t,

    It is almost certain that you won’t. “

    And finally, you must perform some action and obtain a result. Lombardi believed in this and had a winning legacy to demonstrate this. He says that,

    A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”

    So, yes, leaders can do the impossible. But to do so, they must prepare themselves and their organizations; they must believe and create the sense of belief in the organizations they lead; and they must do more than give lip service to all of this. They must sacrifice, act and produce results.

     

    About

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


    − 6 = 3