In Sports, it’s About the Ball; in Business, it’s Self-Leadership

Self-leadership is my topic, so I’ll start with a question. On a football team, whose job is it to recover a fumble? Answer: Everyones! 

Why? Because it’s a rare, infrequent, game-changing opportunity that can help your team win. 

In Sports, it’s all about the ball. So, Pete Carroll, the forever youthful Seattle Seahawks Head Football Coach, has made it (the ball) its team mantra. “It’s all about the ball!” Or, if you’re a hockey fan – the puck. How you take care of it, possess it, and take advantage of the opportunities of having the ball in your possession to score ultimately determines if you win or lose.

Let’s transition and try an analogy.

In Business, whose job is it to lead? Answer: Everyones! 

Why? Because it is an infrequent, little-understood, game-changing opportunity that can help your team win. This analogy may surprise many of you until you learn that most organizations are over-managed and under-led by a factor of 4-to-1. Being over-managed is nothing short of having an albatross around your neck. It’s like constantly playing defense, which is reactive and exhausting, responding to whatever the world has for us that day.

I’m speaking about self-leadership.

When I address clients and use the word “Leadership,” I’m speaking of self-leadership – the actions and behaviors associated with leadership, not the title or position of leadership. I’m speaking of vision and strategy, communicating vision and strategy, motivating action, removing barriers, getting buy-in, and inspiring people. Leadership is taking complex systems and people and creating innovation, opportunity, and growth.

One senior leadership team can no longer lead the change alone in a faster-changing world with unrelenting innovation and competition. Driving leadership down the ranks and enabling everyone to lead empowers self-leadership and ownership of the vision and mission. I’m talking about leading from the “middle.” It’s how organizations move faster – despite the obstacles – and create a deeply felt determination to win and win now.

How is this done?

Over the past 30 years with Tom Flick Communications, I’ve guided hundreds of business teams toward becoming legacy teams. If you’re interested in learning more, please contact me today.