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Good morning,
Ever since I heard the news of Pat Summitt’s passing, I have been enthralled in the celebration of her life and legacy. What she accomplished as a coach—the most successful collegiate basketball in history; as a pioneer in the advancement of her industry and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom are the kind of achievements that all leaders desire.
As we start the second half of 2016, what can you as a leader learn from Pat Summitt that will progress the advancement of humanity flourishing in service of your clients, your colleagues and your profession?
Here are a few lessons from Pat’s book, Sum It Up, that are applicable to any leader:
Empower your players. “I can’t score for you, or get a rebound for you, I can only give you the information to be successful,” she told her team. Summit taught her players to make good independent judgments and that required her to give up being in control of everything and everyone.
Give genuine feedback. Summitt observed when her players did not hear feedback, they assumed the silence meant they were underperforming or worthless. She like many leaders would struggle finding the balance between too much praise and its effectiveness. So, she created a feedback system that improved communication for all.
Use failure as a motivator and grow. “Great teams explain their failure; they don’t excuse it,” she writes. “When you explain a loss aloud, it’s no longer a tormenting mystery.” Confronting problems in the open, Summitt-style, reduced misunderstandings and created trust.
Build trust through fairness. To mold a group of players with varied levels of emotional maturity, she did not treat them all the same, but rather treated them all fairly. The single most important principle of teaching for Summitt: “They don’t care how much you know unless they know how much you care.”
There is no one archetype of leadership. There is no one proven mold of a successful leader. But there is one undeniable truth: You are only a true leader if you practice what you preach.
Make it a great day!