Replacing a Legend

Yesterday, Bill O'Brien was introduced as the new coach of the Penn State football team.  Under better circumstances, there may have been others more closely attached to the university.  But given the child sexual abuse scandal, the slate was wiped clean.  Based on what I see, public opinion is mixed with the choice of Coach O'Brien.  Time will tell.  What most of us know is that it is very difficult to replace a legend.  In most cases, though not all, the position is temporary.  Quick, who replaced John Wooden, Woody Hayes, George Halas, Vince Lombardi (in Green Bay), and Darrell Royal?  They certainly weren't legends.  For your information, the coaches were:  Gene Bartow, Earle Bruce, Jim Dooley, Phil Bengston, and Fred Akers respectively.  Akers had some success but nothing like the legendary Royal.  There have been some successes, like Bill Cowher replacing Chuck Noll.  But it's not easy.

Why would anyone want to succeed a legend?  The path is littered with comparisons, the previous coaches players, a different system and skeptical alumni and fans.  So it is in business.  In well run organizations, the heir apparent is groomed over several years to become the leader.  In most cases, this is a recipe for success.  It's important not to bash your predecessor, but build on what he or she has done.  Remember, they were successful, they must have done something right.  Learn from those in key roles and gradually change systems to help you meet your goals.

What you see early is what you get.  In other words, the first impression is usually the lasting one.  Choose your words carefully, define your goals clearly, and engage the entire organization.  Will you be Bill Cowher or Jim Dooley?  The choice is yours. 

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

It’s bowl season, but that doesn’t mean I watched a game all the way through.  Last night, I was in and out of the Notre Dame-Florida State game.  It was the Champs Citrus Bowl I think.  There are so many meaningless bowl games-but that’s a story for another day.  The game ended with Florida State scoring 18 unanswered points, most in the fourth quarter to win 18-14.

The interesting part of the game to me was the interaction between Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and his quarterback (at that point) Tommy Rees.  In the fourth quarter, Notre Dame looked like a punch drunk fighter, holding on hoping not to get knocked out.  No player looked worse than Rees.  The problem was that you could see his confidence eroding with every series.  As soon as he came off the field, Kelly was in his face about what he did wrong.  He would take a couple of minutes and lambaste Rees for not picking up the right receiver, throwing into coverage, missing an open receiver and throwing an interception.  The more he yelled, the worse Rees played.  It looked like Kelly was yelling what not to do rather than paint the picture of what he should do.  This is a common leadership mistake.

If you close your eyes and I ask you not to think of the number 3, what happens?  It’s all you can think about.  So it is with leadership.  If you keep telling your team what not to do, that’s all they will be thinking about.  Most people know what not to do-they don’t always know what to do.  That's where a good leader comes in.  A good leader will illustrate the vision of what excellence looks like and help their team move toward it.  I remember coaching Little League baseball and telling the pitcher not to throw a ball.  Of course he doesn’t want to throw a ball-but now he can’t help it because I’ve put the visual in his mind.  Instead, I now tell him he’s a strike thrower.  It’s a big difference in his psyche, and hopefully creates a better result.

Think about the picture you’re painting for your team.  Perhaps you’re creating a prophecy that will lead to negative results.

Don't Wait

Life seems like it will last forever.  When we're young, we're invincible.  There are thousands of tomorrows.  Why should you change when the status quo is ok?  This year has been a wake up call in our house with my wife suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in January.  Thankfully, she is on the road to full recovery.  I almost lost the chance to show and tell her how much I love her.  Don't wait.

If you're undefeated after 13 games in the NFL-don't wait to celebrate your achievement.  The 14th game may not go so well.

You may find yourself at the top of your game one week then lose a game and be out of the running for the Heisman Trophy.  Don't wait to thank your team mates for their support.

You may win 102 games during your regular season only to lose in the first round of the playoffs.  Don't wait to start working toward the next season.  You may never make it to the playoffs again.

Traffic accidents kill in an instant, no matter how big and strong you are.  Don't wait to learn the lessons from others who have died behind the wheel.

Sometimes you're in the right situation with the right team.  Don't wait to figure it out once you're gone.

There are thousands of examples of good leadership in sports and maybe as many poor examples.  Don't wait to learn life lessons from both.  You only have one shot at life.  Follow the buoys that are set before you.

As we break for the Holidays, take the opportunity to embrace life and those that make it special.  Don't wait for a special occasion, next week or even tomorrow.  Best wishes for a wonderful Holiday season.  Enjoy today and look forward to tomorrow. 

The Perfect Ending?

As the football season winds down, it occurs to me that few of us will write the ending we want to our careers.  In many cases, it's because we stay too long and accumulate baggage in one place.  This season has taken a toll on legendary coach Joe Paterno and closer to home, Andy Reid of the Philadelphia Eagles.  In Paterno's case, he appears to have covered up the sordid behavior of a friend and former assistant.  As we all know, the dominoes came down hard and quickly.  With Andy Reid, it has been more of a long, tortuous end.  His Eagles were supposed to play in the Super Bowl.  With the pathetic performance on Thursday, they will play out the season and watch the playoffs from home.  When the season ends on January 1st, the players will surely know that they've played for Andy Reid for the last time in Philadelphia.

Does it have to end this way?  Do we have a choice in how we go out?  I say yes.  The end of a career should be a celebration of a job well done; of honors earned; of milestones reached; and of impact made.  The key is to keep working hard, don't rest on your laurels and stay fresh.  By all appearances, the two coaches have failed to stay fresh and have rested on their reputation.  I have seen many men and women retire after spectacular careers and have gone on to even greater challenges.  For some, the challenge is staying in the job long enough to get a pension.  The latter is a recipe for disaster.

Are you crossing off the days until you retire?  Are you wishing it was over?  Be careful what you do wish for-it may just happen and not on your terms.

Results

Sometimes winning isn't pretty.  Take the case of Tim Tebow, quarterback of the Denver Broncos.  He had an incredible college career at Florida.  While there, his team won two national championships, 2 Southeastern Conference Championships and won the Heisman Trophy as the best collegiate player in college as a sophomore.  As starting quarterback, he was 35-6 over a three year period.  He has a host of other awards, honors and records.

In the 2010 draft, he was selected in the first round by the Denver Broncos.  He didn't play much his rookie year and many believe his game is not suited to the NFL.  This year, the team started off 1-4 with Tebow serving as back up.  With nothing to lose and the season going nowhere, he started his first game against Miami on October 23rd and has gone 4-1 since starting.  He and the Broncos beat the Jets last Thursday. 

He is an unorthodoxed quarterback.  He doesn't throw well, he's left handed and he's built like a linebacker.  But he does win.  In a league where statistics can be gaudy, his aren't.  Winning is everything.  Tebow is a winner and gets results.  It doesn't hurt that he does it through hard work and drive.

So it is within our organizations.  How do you measure results?  Are you tracking what matters?  What constitutes a win?  Often we're afraid to put ourselves out there for fear we'll fail and face the ramifications.  The truth is, we do our best work just outside our comfort zone.  As leaders, it's our job to work in that space ourselves and coach our staffs to do the same.  You need to create an environment where it's ok to fail if it means you're better for it.  Work hard, be an example to your teammates, and get results.

Closure

There have been so many teachable moments this week with the Penn State situation.  I could write a week's full of blogs about them.  Perhaps the most important is closure.  Certainly, the alleged victims and their families are far from closure and may never get to that point.  This may be the greatest tragedy of the abuse.  It is unfathomable to imagine what they have gone through and are continuing to confront daily.  Hopefully, continued awareness of child sexual abuse will ferret out predators and provide courage to others to report it quickly to the police.

As is often the case, sports can provide an avenue for us to move on during tragedies and crisis.  For the students of Penn State and the citizens of State College, a football game helped bring closure to an unreal week.  Though I can't say for sure, I believe the rioting occurred in part because the students wouldn't have a chance to give Joe Paterno a proper send off.  This certainly doesn't make it right.  I have found in my life that without closure, emotions continue to run high and my foundation is less stable.  I suspect this was the case on Wednesday when the Trustees fired JoePa. 

Fast forward to today.  The scene at Penn State was incredible.  The athletes for Penn State and Nebraska took center stage and showed us all how to behave.  They came together to pray at the start of the game and many did the same after.  The students in the stands were well behaved and cheered their team on.  At the end, with Penn State losing, they stayed and applauded their team for their effort.  No riots, no demonstrations, just a hard fought game as it should be on a cool November afternoon.

As leaders, we need to remember that any crisis or adverse situation needs closure.  It is the leader's responsibility to stand up and show that they are in charge, have control of the situation and are ready to lead their team past the adversity.  It's not easy.  Often we're caught up in the emotion ourselves.  That's part of the responsibility of being a leader-be there to show the way.  It will take years for the scandal at Penn State to be resolved.  Don't let that happen when a crisis strikes.  Stand tall and be a model for others to follow.

Invincible

It has been a tough week for Penn State fans.  The indictment that came down on Saturday about the Nittany Lions ex-defensive coordinator is an outrage.  Like most incidents of this nature, the cover up compounds the alleged crime.  What is especially hard to swallow is that Joe Paterno, Penn State's coach for life, didn't do enough to stop the crimes or support the victims.

Before Saturday, JoePa (Paterno) could have written his own ending to a fabled coaching career.  Two weeks ago, he surpassed Eddie Robinson to become the winningest coach in college football history.  Most believe his time had come, but he earned the right to leave on his own terms.  No longer.  Today he said he would retire at the end of the season.  Later this week, he may have coached his last game and will be shown the door.  A terrible way to end a wonderful career.

It could all have been so different.  The problem with staying in one place for so long is that you become invincible.  By all accounts, nothing happened at the football facilities, practices or with the players that JoePa didn't know about.  Assuming this is true, then he knew about the transgressions of Jerry Sandusky and didn't remove him from the program and report him to the authorities.  He could have done the right thing and spared other victims.  It appears he did not.  It's more than his legacy that will be impacted.  It is the lives of many who have looked to him as the ultimate leader.

Let this be a lesson to all.  No one is invincible.  No one is so important that they are above ethical behavior and the law.  As painful as it may have been to turn in his friend, the community would have been so much better off and JoePa could write the ending to a great career.  How the mighty fall! 

Life presents us with teachable moments daily.  At some point each of us will be tested with an ethical dilemma.  How we react will define us the rest of our lives.  What will you do when tested?  Will your backbone be strong enough to withstand the push and pull of peers, friends and family?  Decide your core values and make sure your faith in them is unshakable.  Learn from JoePa's mistakes.