Category: Leadership

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was once asked his opinion of former Indiana coach Bobby Knight. Wooden would only respond…

“I think Bob Knight is an outstanding teacher of the game of basketball, but I don’t approve of his methods. But I’m not a judge, and I’m not judging Bob Knight. There is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us, it hardly behooves me to talk about the rest of us.”

I think he understood what Henry Kaiser once said, “When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.”

Wooden, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 99, has shown us what a legend looks like.

He was not only a gentlemen on the court, he also set records that may never be broken. His 10 national championships, his 88 game winning streak, his phenomenal winning percentage, the players he groomed for stardom in the NBA — this is his legacy; he had no reason to add the title of “outspoken critic” to the list.

NO TIME FOR TALK

In your life and mine, in your work and mine, there are a number of potential (even so-called “valid”) targets of our own outspoken criticism.

If we’re not careful, they can take up all of our time and attention.

And if we’re not careful, we can be sidetracked into thinking that our opinions are more important than our actions.

It’s what you do that ultimately makes a difference. Talk isn’t enough. Opinions aren’t enough. Criticism, no matter how on-target or how well-articulated, is never enough.

You prove who you are by the way that you live.

Paul asked…

So why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God. (Romans 14:10)

Let’s strive, then, toward leaving a legacy built not upon our estimation of others, but upon our own measurable accomplishments.

Criticize less, do more.

That’s what a legend looks like.

Truett Cathy (founder of Chic-fil-A) once said, “How do you identify someone who needs encouragement? Answer: That person is breathing.”

You can be sure that every person you encounter today will benefit from a good word. You may not be able to solve their problems, but you can give them a little extra fuel for their journey.

How do you offer encouragement? Here are a handful of suggestions.

Remember that you can’t give encouragement when you’re talking about yourself. Especially when you’re talking about your problems. Sometimes we try to give others a little perspective on their problems by telling them how bad ours are. It doesn’t help.

Point out what they’re doing right. They probably already know what isn’t working, and they probably already know what they’re doing wrong. Tell them what is working. Tell them something good about themselves. Don’t worry, they won’t get big-headed about it.

Tell them what you see for them in the future. Tell them how things can be. Remind them of what God can do, how he can transform any situation for his glory, how he can transform any person into the image of Christ, how he can use anyone to accomplish his purpose.

Give them an example. An example other than yourself, that is. Tell them about a friend who had a similar problem and was able to overcome it. Or how a business leader dealt with adversity. Or how another Christian’s perseverance ultimately paid off. Tell them a story that will give them hope.

Offer to help them fine-tune their strategy. When you say, “If you ever want feedback on anything, I’m here to give it,” they will probably come to you for feedback — if they sense your sincerity. It is then that you can ever-so-gently point out the things they’re doing wrong. It is then that you can help them improve their approach and correct their mistakes.

Just remember: first, they need encouragement.

Isaiah said…

Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with an anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but he will save you.” (Isaiah 35:3-4)

There’s a story about a farmer who called a restaurant owner, asking if he was interested in making a deal on some frog legs.

“I can bring you hundreds,” he said. “There’s a creek behind my house that’s full of them. They drive me crazy night and day.”

They negotiated a price for a hundred frogs, and the farmer went home.

A few days later he called the restaurant owner and cancelled the contract.

“Turns out there weren’t hundreds of frogs in that pond. There were just two. But those two frogs sure were making a lot of noise.”

The same can be said about our problems.

And our critics, too.

There may not be that many of them, but they sure are loud.

Successful leaders learn to ignore the croaking of the critics. They also learn to ignore the derisive ribits of this problem and that.

They learn, instead, to focus on the promises of God:

“Lo, I am with you always…No weapon that is formed against you will prosper…though I walk through the shadow of the valley death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me.”

If you’ll listen, you’ll find that God’s promises — the ones spoken in his still, small voice — can ultimately drown out the noise generated by the cares and concerns of this world.

We tend to equate leadership with authority. We measure the extent of our leadership by the number of people we can tell what to do.

Leadership is more than this. It’s not about hierarchy, it’s about influence. For this reason, you can be a leader no matter which rung of the ladder you’re currently standing on.

John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Today as you deal with those in your organization above you and below you, remember that your challenge as a leader is, through your words and your example, to inspire others to take another step toward excellence in their work and in their spiritual lives.

Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Paul Dietzel, former head coach of LSU, said, “You learn more character on the 2 yard line than anywhere else in life.”

He’s right. Depending on which side of the ball you’re on, the 2 yard line means you’re right on the edge of success or failure.

That’s when it’s time to dig in, to make a final surge for the score or a last minute stand against defeat.

In ministry, as well as in life, you often find yourself on the 2 yard line — just this side of success, or just that side of defeat.

And often it’s a combination of the two. That’s because life, unlike football, makes it possible to be both places at once.

Consider the challenges you’re facing today. What does victory demand you do? Push harder here? Stand tougher there?

Either way, it’s time to dig in. Time to persevere, to persist in doing good one more day, making one more effort to accomplish that to which we have been called.

Let us not become weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. (Galatians 6:10)