Top Leadership Quotes Part II
Accessing potential, he human needs, playing the game "the right way," and responsibility.
Hello Bar-Setters!
This is the second installment in my top leadership quotes. Whether a teacher, parent, coach, or cool uncle—being around youth is about leadership.
Last time I looked at Discipline, Action, and Approach:
For today, I’ll share quotes on Wisdom and Leadership Perspective. Onward!
Quote 1:
“When we plant a rose seed in the earth, we notice that it is small, but we do not criticize it as ‘rootless and stemless.’ We treat it as a seed, giving it the water and nourishment required of a seed. When it first shoots up out of the earth, we don’t condemn it as immature and underdeveloped; nor do we criticize the buds for not being open when they appear. We stand in wonder at the process taking place and give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development. The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed to the time it dies. Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential. It seems to be constantly in the process of change; yet at each state, at each moment, it is perfectly all right as it is.”
—Timothy Gallwey, The Inner Game of Tennis
This quote helps orient me towards the perspective I must take towards each person I work with. It is so easy to waste time and energy criticizing teachers and students, or waxing on about where they should be in their development.
The reality is, people are where they are. This doesn’t excuse them from responsibility for themselves, but it isn’t productive to focus on how much further along someone could be. Leaders must meet each member of their team where they are so that they can give them the direction they need at a specific moment in time. It doesn’t matter where a person should be or could be. It doesn’t matter how we think they should think or how we think students should learn. All that matters is accurately assessing where a person is so you can give them the feedback and support they need in each moment to become who they are capable of becoming.
Progress often isn’t linear. When we see each person as a bundle of potential and commit to helping them realize the full extent of their potential, we are best able to serve them.
In my first year teaching, I began to meditate as a way of quieting the background anxiety I often felt. This practice has been essential to my development as a person and as a leader. It has helped me to appreciate the difference between observation and perception. Observation is when what you see is simply a mirror of the events that occur. Perception is the story you choose to tell about those events. Those stories have power.
So often our views are distorted by personal biases. It is important to work to see each person and each situation clearly.
With practice, you can short-circuit the story you are telling yourself and get back to the raw observational facts. This allows you to reframe events in a more productive manner.
Quote 2:
“...human beings need three basic things in order to be content: they need to feel competent at what they do; they need to feel authentic in their lives; and they need to feel connected to others. These values are considered "intrinsic" to human happiness and far outweigh "extrinsic" values such as beauty, money and status.” —Sebastian Junger
This quote may seem out of place among a list of top leadership quotes. However, this quote identifies core elements of human nature that each leader must understand and integrate into their leadership style.
I have to work hard to craft an environment where both teachers and students have their deepest needs met and where they feel a sense of purpose in their work. A school should actively seek to help people to find a path to connection, authenticity, and competency. More still, the chief mission of public education is to help people develop the skills they need in order to flourish and be productive members of a community.
Educators must take a rigorous, evidence based approach to meeting these needs and designing their schools in such a way that they promote these fundamental human needs.
Quote 3:
“As a leader your job is to do everything in your power to create the perfect conditions for success by benching your ego and inspiring your team to play the game the right way.”
—Phil Jackson
Similar to the earlier Timothy Galway quote, Jackson alludes that leadership is more like being a gardener who creates the right conditions for people to thrive than it is about being a carpenter who builds people exactly as he wants them. This requires humility and an ability to be flexible and work with people.
Ego is so often the thing that prevents a leader from connecting and helping others the best they can. We want to be the genius in the room, rather than the one who accesses, magnifies, and stirs other peoples genius.
I recently listened to Colin Cowherd interview of Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh, a coaching great, is noticeably unpolished. What stands out about him, however, is his enthusiasm and how much he pumps each one of his players up. He is the type of leader that must make every athlete feel like they are the best player in the NFL.
In addition to this, I love the concept of playing the game the right way.
What the right way is is something that each team determines through an organic, collaborative process. The best organizations are able to help many different people develop a unified and motivating sense of what that is. The right way of doing things is a unifying heuristic that makes members of the team feel proud about their work and their connection to the team.
Quote 4:
“I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.” —Brené Brown
This quote is similar to the Galwey quote, as well, in that it is about seeing the potential in others and helping to cultivate that potential so that people become the greatest version of themselves.
I also appreciate Brown’s use of the word: responsibility.
The chief responsibility of a leader is to help all those they encounter to become the greatest version of themselves so they too can create a positive ripple effect in the world. Likewise, leaders have a responsibility to find the potential in processes for unlocking hidden potential in people.
In The Motive, leadership expert Patrick Lencioni talks about a major distinction he sees between successful and unsuccessful leaders. The best leaders, he says, see their work as a privilege and a responsibility. Less successful leaders see their job as a reward for the hard work they’ve done throughout their careers. They see being the boss as the reward for their efforts and, consequently, approach their role without the service mindset that makes all the difference.
Thank you for reading and sharing!
Shane