Successful leadership is about building up those you are entrusted to care for into future leaders through growth and empowerment while holding them accountable to expectations and goals. #DailyMight
“You are the Captain. Are you creating followers or future captains?”
It was a simple question from a coach I thought I didn’t like nearly 25 years ago. I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t the star of my high school hockey team. I was on the bottom half of the roster as far as talent goes – but I was listener. An observer. And I was willing to learn, which gave me a spot on the team. And brought me to this conversation that an angry coach was yelling at our star captain in front of me and my teammates after giving up a 5 goal lead in the middle of the season. It was game changing.
Something shifted that night in the middle of November in a hockey locker room in the middle of Alaska. I’d spend the next four months learning the valuable lesson that a skilled and passionate Head Coach summed up in one simple question. I watched over the next 16 weeks as a young, talented athlete transformed from a great player, to a great player and leader. And all because of a simple shift in how leadership is to be thought of.
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:4
Leaders are held responsible for those that are entrusted to their care. Successful leadership is about building up those you are entrusted to care for into future leaders through growth and empowerment while holding them accountable to expectations and goals. That year, like most years, we had a locker room full of possible future captains that were not yet being tapped into. That is, until that night when everything changed.
I watched over the second half of the season as our captain poured into his teammates, including myself who was a willing participant. He was vocal and communicative of his goals and expectations of the practice, event, or game that we were about to participate in. He modeled what his expectations looked like and we began to buy in on those same expectations. He gave encouragement to grow, and he delegated authority to other leaders on the team (regardless if they wore a C or an A). He taught, through being a leader, what future leadership looks like.
When it was all said and done, we scored 15 in the final game of that season. Our coach, who I have come to value and trust, had accomplished his most important task for the year. That 15 we scored, didn’t show up on the scoreboard of that game. That 15 account for the fifteen new possible leaders who exited the locker room for the last time as part of that team to end the season. Fifteen new game changers who were taught by a leader what leadership looks like.
Give everything your everything, and then some.
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