[NU Sports] Leadership (used to be Great Article.....)

[Jeff Beamsley]

I like this leadership thread a whole lot better than the "bitey-bitey"
parts that went before.

IMHO effective leadership ultimately has to be measured by results whether
you are changing the world (Jesus/Mohamed/Ghandi/etc.) or making sure
somebody gets home safely.  To that end, RW has recently delivered results
(winning record, kids graduating, and a clean program).

By definition, leaders also have to have followers.  Why they follow is as
complicated as why leaders lead, but suffice it to say that RW appears to
have the support of his players.  So he qualifies here too, though with an *
because he obviously doesn't have unanimous support of the fans (not unusual
in his position).  

Where it gets more interesting, as Mark pointed out, is when a particular
style of leadership is challenged by conditions that render it ineffective.
In RW's case, hard to be a tough-guy when confronted with a dead kid.
Hopefully he won't face that situation at NU again, but if the results are
how we measure, he didn't handle it very well.  That's not to suggest than
anyone else could have done any better, but the kids on those teams seemed
to reflect his own struggle to find himself. 

I'm not sure if he ever really did re-define himself, so much as just kept
doing what he knew how to do.  Eventually enough time passed that his team
again was made up of kids who believed in him, had no memory of those times
of doubt, and things got better again.  (Just my opinion BTW).

The new conditions that RW will now face are raised expectations coupled
with his own prediction of consistency.  I guess we will see whether his
style of leadership works as well in the "post Baz" years as it did this
year.  I suspect it will depend very heavily on how well the new Baz
performs.

Jeff

 

-----Original Message-----
From: nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com [mailto:nwu-sports-bounces at tssi.com] On
Behalf Of MarkS83588 at aol.com
Sent: Sunday, December 25, 2005 9:16 PM
To: BSchooler at aol.com; nwu-sports at romaine.tssi.com
Subject: Re: [NU Sports] Great article about Randy Walker

I disagree with Bob's view. As a business leader, there are times where I
have to deliver difficult messages, which I would not deliver if I was
concerned with being liked. That is what I am expected to do as a leader. It
has nothing to do with intimidation....sometimes you have to tell someone
they aren't getting the job done, and that they need to change or they will
be replaced. The real world isn't always fair or nice, and deep down Bob
must understand that.

I do agree with Bob that leaders need more arrows in their quiver than just
being the tough guy. My view is that there are times to be tough, and that
is when true leader earn their pay.

Conservatives like Bob just don't understand how to be tough and
successful....(just kidding!).

Bob, don't you just yearn for the days of Charlie McKenna? It was sure fun
watching you two go at it. Merry Christmas.
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