Patriot Academy 2012 taught all of the fundamentals of leadership that it always does, and better than ever. It also taught the foundational principles of law and government that built this nation, as it always has. But in 2012 I learned something new about leadership. A lesson that is so simple, so obvious, and yet often overlooked; A lesson that was ultimately proven in the elections of 2008 and 2012, both nationally and locally.
Leadership is a Team Sport. To effectively lead communities, counties, states, nations, and the world, we have to become effective leaders, in effective leadership teams.
Frances Hesselbein had this to say; “Organizations exist to make people’s strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant. And this is the work of effective leaders.”
Organizations- teams, really—have the power to eliminate holes. It’s like in Rocky, when he’s talking about Adrian. “I got gaps. She’s got gaps. Together, we got no gaps!” I wish Americans and Christians were saying this for each other more often.
Americans, and most notably American leadership, have started focusing on individualism instead of organizational or team leadership. As a result, we have started following a pageant model for vetting our leaders. This attracts a certain type of narcissist to the leadership spotlight and encourages a ‘king of the hill’ mentality of leadership—kicking others down in an effort to reach the top of the human pyramid. We need to think of leadership as a pillar that fully assumes the weight and responsibility of those in our coalitions.
In 2008 and 2012, (and in every election, really), we’ve seen two models of leadership represented. One was individualistic and had a clear anthem through the primaries. ‘Unless I win, nobody wins.’ This detracted from the credibility of everybody in that team, even those who were willing team players. The winners were those who, on the other team, chose to edify each other, praise the strengths and cover for weaknesses, and ultimately serve each other in a team capacity.
Capable leaders are those who lead in packs, who lead toward a cause instead of toward a spotlight. When you’re one of the Knights who defend Camelot, you learn to cover the blind side of your brothers in arms. John Maxwell says, “Teams share the credit for victories, and the blame for losses. This fosters genuine humility and authentic community. Individuals take credit and blame alone. This fosters pride and often times, a sense of failure.”
In 2013 commit to being a team player. Commit to loving your teammates and loving your cause, instead of loving the stage or the spotlight. Commit to playing for keeps, commit to playing for each other, and commit to playing for the other leaders you work with.
Here are some principles of Team Leadership to carry into 2013:
1.) Team work divides the effort and multiplies the effect.
This means as a team player, you will look for ways to divide the effort with the leaders around you. Look for ways to lift the load from them. This won’t just divide the effort, it will invariably multiply their effect, and yours as well.
2.) Individuals play the game; Teams win championships.
Play the game, and play hard, but stop to think once in a while, ‘How does this contribute to or hinder the team around me?’ If you see a pattern of individualism in your projects, you may want to start asking leaders how your efforts can cross-promote or contribute to their efforts. This is the only way you and your team can win the championship. You don’t have to be carrying the ball to help move it down the field.
3.) Friendly fire kills you just as dead as enemy fire.
As tempting as it may be to shoot down somebody for having a slightly dissenting opinion, that energy is just as damaging to those in your coalition as an attack from the outside. In fact, it’s more damaging. Because when the world looks for leadership, they won’t trust a team if the players don’t trust each other. Ask yourself if you have a habit of friendly fire, and make note of how damaging it is when you’re fired upon.
4.) “Ask not what your teammates can do for you, ask what you can do for your teammates!”
This was how an NBA star paraphrased the famous quote by JFK. His comment applies right back to healing communities and building nations. A team wins games locally first, then regionally, before going to state and ultimately national championship playoffs. How is this different when it comes to solving the crises that face our country? Remember that by serving the team locally, you’re serving the whole team; that includes you. When you move your community forward, you gain the necessary credibility for all of the leaders in your team to move the nation forward.
5.) Teams win daily – Not in a day.
John Maxwell’s ‘Law of Process’ from his bestseller, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership says it all—“Leadership Develops Daily, Not in a Day.” My Dad often quotes, ‘Success would be easy, if it wasn’t so daily.’ The simple fact is this: winning as part of a team is a daily project that doesn’t happen in a day. Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it was built daily. Nations can’t be mended in a single day, but there is no nation that can’t be mended through daily action of coalitions and individuals, applying themselves to the principles and laws of national prosperity.
As you may have guessed, national prosperity can’t happen without local victories from teams committed to national success. A team is greater than the sum of all its talents, and you will be able to accomplish more by playing for the team than you will by fighting for your individual spotlight.
The New Commandment
Christ said it best, of course, when he paused his disciples and delivered this charge: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
You got gaps. I got gaps. Together we got no gaps. Let’s storm the beaches of 2013 and beyond, and take the hill together.
