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OK….the truth is, 111,310 people were watching. And then there was the television audience….probably millions there. They just weren’t watching what I was watching – leadership in all it’s glory.

The date was September 22, 2007, and thanks to a friend’s generosity, I was given tickets to the Michigan-Penn State game. Michigan didn’t have a very good team, but the crowd at the Big House was still amped up. It was a fun atmosphere for me and my then 11 year-old son.

The game was a grinder. Mid-way through the 4th quarter, the score was 7-6 Michigan. The Wolverine offense, quarterbacked by freshman Ryan Mallett, was basically one-dimensional. Team captain Mike Hart finished the game with 44 carries for 153 yards. He was it….the only bright spot on offense.

The Wolverines eventually pushed ahead 14-6, only to see the Nittany Lions come back with a field goal, making the score 14-9. With 6 minutes left in the game, Michigan got the ball and was desperate to run out some clock. They handed the ball to Mike Hart…..and kept handing it to him, over and over again.

With 3 minutes to play, Hart ran up the middle and was destroyed by a Penn State linebacker. It was the 41st carry of the game for the running back, and when he was carried off the field, there was a sense of dread in the crowd. Their leader was gone.

Penn State called a timeout. It was 3rd and 3, and without Hart, you could sense the Nittany Lions thought they could stop Michigan, get the ball back and put the game away. That’s when I watched the drama unfold on the sidelines. Hart had positioned himself away from the coaches, and just before the timeout was over, he limped onto the field and told the running back who had replaced him to go back to the sideline. When he lined up in the backfield, I think everyone, including the coaches, looked on in shock.

Hart knew what was coming, and he did his job perfectly. At the snap of the ball, the Penn State defense blitzed their linebackers, hoping to catch the freshman quarterback off-guard and cause an interception, a fumble, or at the very least, an incomplete pass. As Mallett faded back, the injured Hart stepped in front of the linebacker just before he reached Mallett, and he crushed the defender and put him flat on his back. Pass complete, 1st down, game essentially over.

Mike Hart, who could hardly walk, came back on the field at the perfect moment.

To block. For someone else.

I have watched a lot of football in my life, but I will remember that play as long as I have a memory. THAT was leadership.

And at least one person was watching.

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Occasionally I come across a blog post that I think is important enough to republish. While the ideas contained in this blog post are widely known, I still see leaders, good leaders, who insist on trying being experts in everything. As Michael Hyatt points out in the blog, that philosophy is not only counter-productive for those of us leading, but it also inhibits development of people who have strengths in our weakness areas.

Enjoy the blog, and subscribe to Hyatt’s RSS feed….he shares quite a bit of good material!

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I meet with a group of men every Friday morning. These men are leaders…some of the “movers and shakers” in our community. (If you must know, I invited myself!) I love hearing the hearts of these men…their dreams and hopes and aspirations. I haven’t been involved with them for very long, but the time has became sacred to me.

Last week, the leader of the group asked us to share the time in our lives when we experienced the most freedom. My mind went into hyper-speed. Even with all my synapses firing, desperately seeking even a faint memory of a moment of freedom, I came up empty. It’s not that I feel bound up, it’s just that the pace of my life is so intense that I rarely feel free.

But then I remembered.

It was in my moment of greatest trial that I actually felt the greatest sense of freedom. My oldest son had been diagnosed with cancer, and after spending several weeks deciding on the treatment path, my “part” was completed. I had come to the end of myself and clearly recognized that I could no longer control anything really important. There was nothing more I could do, other than perhaps the most important thing – pray.

I was free.

As the men in that Starbucks shared around our table, each shared a similar exprerience. In their moment of greatest need, of greatest dependence, these world-changing men found freedom.

Funny, isn’t it? We spend our lives running from anything associated with pain, but it’s in pain that we find our greatest freedom and growth. Perhaps James was right when he told us to “consider it pure joy” when we encounter trials.

Something to think about….

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I have a 15 year-old who recently embarked on a journey sure to terrify any parent…the journey to getting a driver’s license. Sure, I’m excited for him, but I also remember my dad’s words to me when we went to practice driving for the very first time: “Drive like every other b*****d on the road is trying to kill you.”

Um….ok.

My dad didn’t use that language every day, so it made an impression on me, and I remembered it!

What I also remember is my first official driving lesson with my instructor. He sat in the driver’s seat, started down the road, then told me that he wouldn’t move the steering wheel off-center unless I told him to.

Within 5 seconds we were headed into oncoming traffic.

“Right!”, I screamed.

He moved the wheel to the right.

“Left!”, I shouted.

Left we went.

“A little right…a little left…a little right…..left….right…”

After 15 minutes I was completely exhausted. I had nothing left. At that point, he stopped the car, and explained to me that driving wasn’t just setting the car in motion in a certain direction. It was setting the car in motion toward a specific target, then making a series of adjustments based on road conditions, direction, traffic and unexpected events that surface as you drive. It was a dynamic, not static.

As leaders, we are often asked to set our teams in motion toward a specific target. To be certain, we need goals and targets to accomplish anything! At the same time, we’d be wise to remind ourselves, and our teams, that our ultimate success will depend on our ability to make the micro, and even macro adjustments necessary to reach our destination safely and effectively.

As I’ll soon remind my son, “There are plenty of drivers out there not paying attention…don’t be one of them!”

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I love balloons.

Fill them with water and you have a weapon. Fill them with helium and you have an aircraft. Rub them on your head and you have a science experiment…or at least hair that stands on end!

Balloons are incredibly versatile, and generally easy to control. Fill one up with air, and no matter how hard you hit it, it’s easy to keep right in front of you. You can easily walk down a hallway bouncing a balloon between hands. Even if you bounce it a little to the left or right, you can make mid-course corrections with ease….the balloon just never gets very far from you.

Golf balls are decidedly less versatile. There are probably uses for them outside of golf, but in general, they are what they are…hard, white spheres meant to be hit with authority to a great distance. Somewhere on the box of golf balls you’ll probably see the word “control”, but anyone who plays the game knows this is a lie.

Some people I work with are like balloons. While they may be colorful and amusing, they generally stay pretty close. No matter how hard I try, they rarely get far from me….even if I want them to. When I set them off on a task, they are generally easy to reorient if they get slightly off to the side.

Others I work with are like golf balls. When I set them off on a task, I may never see them again. When I play golf, my ball often looks pretty good coming off the club face, but just as often I soon realize that a shot hit 1/16th of an inch offline at impact may end up in the woods or out of bounds when it stops rolling. So it is with these people.

Leading well requires that I know my people. Some need constant direction, and others need very clear direction at the start. It’s probably not a big deal when I’m leading balloons, but when I’m leading golf balls, I’d be wise to make sure I am skillfully setting them in the proper direction and trajectory to get the most out of their gifts, abilities and time. Doing so will keep me from losing them and having to find yet another new one.

Does this make sense to anyone but me??

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I’ll never forget the phone call.

I was joining a new team, and I anticipated being considered for a leadership role. The call informed me that a younger, less seasoned teammate was being tapped for the job.

I was stunned.

After all, I had far more work experience, leadership experience and felt confident that I was a better “natural leader.” All that may have been true, but for the record, I think the decision makers made the right call. I wasn’t ready, because I wrongly equated position with leadership.

A couple years later, the “big boss,” the man responsible for that leadership decision, pulled me aside for a little chat. He started talking with me about some problems he saw with the team, and was suggesting ways I could help the group be more effective.

Externally, I was calm, but internally, I was indignant. I finally looked at him and said, “Aren’t you talking to the wrong guy? Remember, you hired the OTHER guy to lead, not me!” His response was classic. “I am talking with the right guy, because in this case, you’re the guy that can institute change!”

Message sent, message received.

I learned that a title on a business card has very little to do with leadership. I learned that leading “from the middle” is a great way to hone both a reputation for leading and the actual experience to take on more leadership. And most importantly, I learned, as my friend Craig Parker once said, that “leaders aren’t necessarily in charge, they’re in front!”

What are your thoughts?

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Years ago I was firmly but lovingly removed from a position I held at work. Though my leadership believed in my future potential as a leader, they felt like I needed to grow personally, and that remaining in my current position would hinder that growth. They gave me no concrete hope for future advancement, but added that they saw a lot of potential in me if I’d be willing to walk the path of growth.

I responded exactly the way my 5 year-old daughter would….only with less maturity.

As I was living my little pity party, I ran across a friend I hadn’t seen in some time. I energetically laid out before him my tale of woe – being careful to chronicle all the wrongs done to me.. He listened patiently, then looked at me and said something akin to , “I’m sorry to hear that, but you now have a great opportunity.”

WHAT????

He continued, “You could continue going through your life the way you always have, being tripped up by the same difficulties. ax-grinding-jigBut the time you’re being given is a gift! Remember, the woodsman never wastes his time when he stops to sharpen his ax.”

Twenty-some years later, I couldn’t be more grateful for my friend’s words. He gave me a great gift….the gift of seeing the futility of pounding the tree of my life with a dull ax. Sure, I could continue to beat away at the trunk with what amounts to a sledge hammer, but I’d leave the stump discouraged and exhausted. With a sharp tool, I can cut through it with effort, but without frustration and discouragement.

Thanks, Rob, for giving me the gift of seeing trials as a growth opportunity and not as punishment.

What’s your story?

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microwaveI was in my last year or two of high school when my parents bought their first microwave. It was so exciting! For a child of the 60’s and 70’s, I felt like I had just entered the Star Trek era. In goes frozen food – out comes a beautifully prepared, delicious meal.

Then we began to actually use it. First of all, the thing was the size of a Smart Car – and just about as useful! (Okay, that was a cheap shot.) Then, when we turned it on, it sounded like a 50,000 watt transformer was switched on! I’m also pretty sure the seal wasn’t perfect, which might explain the 3rd eye growing in the middle of my forehead.

The truth is, while a microwave is a useful tool, it’s not the right tool for everything. I love to eat, and when I go to an elegant restaurant, I’m glad they don’t prepare the entire meal in a microwave.

As a “Type A” kind of guy, I need to remind myself constantly that bigger and faster isn’t always better. Better is better. Most often, meaning, purpose and beauty are found in nuance and subtlety. I’m glad that Steinbeck and Dickens didn’t write in Cliff’s Notes. I’m glad my friend and artist Mako Fujimura takes the time to meticulously prepare his materials before he starts creating his amazing works. It takes time to create, and it takes time to experience someone’s creation.

When I read a great book, experience a great work of art, or eat a gourmet meal, I’m glad that not everything can be summed up in 140 characters. (Check out this hilarious video that illustrates this beautifully.)

To be sure, there are many situations where I am glad I have a microwave at my disposal. Like most of us, I’m a busy guy with a busy family, and I often need to move quickly. While I do appreciate the convenience, what I really appreciate the time it saves to free me up to savor moments that are begging to be savored.

What’s your story?

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Oak TreeI can’t remember when I first heard it, but there’s an old, oft quoted anecdote that I love. A father and his son entered the dean’s office at the university the younger man was to enter. The father told the dean that he wanted his son to graduate as quickly as possible so as to embark on his career. “How fast can we make it happen?”, he asked. The dean paused and said, “Sir, when God wants to make a squash, He takes three months. When He crafts an oak tree, He takes 100 years. Which would you like your son to be?”

I love that! We live in a culture where we glorify speed and expediency, with character and process often being overlooked. We don’t want to wait for anything, which is why we have mounting debt, financial scandal, unwanted pregnancies and any number of other consequences.

This blog isn’t here to bash those making expedient decisions….I make them too. I just hope we can encourage each other to take the longer view – making oak trees, not squash. I hate squash….