Leadership (Part 1) EP45

July 11, 2022

The other day, I was over visiting my parents, and my Mom always asks me what I have coming up for podcast episodes, because she's the hockey journey podcast's #1 fan, as I mentioned before, and I told her the next one on the docket was on leadership, and then I followed it up with a question, did you guys ever have a conversation together, when I was a kid, saying, we need to start introducing leadership to our boys? My Mom and Dad looked at each other with blank faces, a short pause and then looked at me and said, the thought never crossed their mind. My Dad did interject this, he said, I don't know Lance, I guess I just remember telling you to be an engine and not a caboose. I chuckled and told him that I remember him saying that to me, and I'm grateful for that small, short, simple sentence, because it's stuck with me to this day. But what the conversation showed me, was that I'm sure there's all kinds of other parents, kids, teachers or instructors out there that might have the same question, how is leadership acquired or taught? What do those conversations sound like, when should they start in one's life, and, is there a competitive advantage out there, when it comes to acquiring leadership skills, available to everyone, that you might have missed the boat on? Well, I'm not an expert in the field of leadership, but there are many in this world who have made this quality or characteristic their life's work, and we're going to see what they have to say on the topic. For the following books I'm going to reference, know that I'm only scratching the surface of all the learning nuggets in each of the titles. If something resonates with you from a certain book, by the end of this episode, I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of your own and read it in its entirety. Below are the links to each of the titles. Enjoy the episode :)

Leadership In Turbulent Times By Doris Kearns Goodwin https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Turbulent-Doris-Kearns-Goodwin/dp/1476795924

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell https://www.amazon.com/21-Irrefutable-Laws-Leadership-Anniversary/dp/0785288376?tag=entheos06-20

The Leadership Challenge How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations By James Kouzes and Barry Posner https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Challenge-Extraordinary-Things-Organizations/dp/0470651725?tag=entheos06-20

Extreme Ownership How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin https://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Ownership-U-S-Navy-SEALs/dp/1250067057?tag=entheos06-20

Episode Transcript

Hi Everyone and welcome back to the Hockey Journey Podcast, episode number 45,
Leadership (Part 1), presented to you by OnlineHockeyTraining.com. I'm your host Coach Lance Pitlick. If you're new here, please make sure you subscribe, so you won't miss out on any future episodes.

Before we fire up the engine and start the conversation, if you want to learn more about me, my hockey experiences, what I know, and most importantly, how I've been helping hockey players get really good with a stick and puck, just head on over to onlinehockeytraining.com and gain instant access to my 10 part video series where I'll show you everything. Consider it my gift to you.

So today I want to talk about leadership, what is it, how do we get it, and if you're a parent, teacher or instructor, how are we supposed to be teaching it?

Here's what I found on Dictionary.com
Definition of leadership
1. the position or function of a leader, a person who guides or directs a group:
Example - He managed to maintain his leadership of the party despite heavy opposition.
2. ability to lead:
Example - As early as sixth grade she displayed remarkable leadership potential.
3. an act or instance of leading; guidance; direction:
Example - They prospered under his strong leadership.
4. the leaders of a group:
Example - The union leadership agreed to arbitrate.

That's leadership defined by Dictionary.com
The other day, I was over visiting my parents and my Mom always asks me what I have coming up for podcast episodes, because she's the hockey journey podcast's #1 fan, as I mentioned before, and I told her the next one on the docket was on leadership, and then I followed it up with a question, did you guys ever have a conversation together, when I was a kid, saying, we need to start introducing leadership to our boys? My Mom and Dad looked at each other with blank faces, a short pause and then looked at me and said, the thought never crossed their mind. My Dad did interject this, he said, I don't know Lance, I guess I just remember telling you to be an engine and not a caboose. I chuckled and told him that I remember him saying that to me, and I'm grateful for that small, short, simple sentence, because it's stuck with me to this day.

But what the conversation showed me, was that I'm sure there's all kinds of other parents, kids, teachers or instructors out there that might have the same question, how is leadership acquired or taught? What do those conversations sound like, when should they start in one's life, and, is there a competitive advantage out there, when it comes to acquiring leadership skills, available to everyone, that you might have missed the boat on? Well, I'm not an expert in the field of leadership, but there are many in this world who have made this quality or characteristic their life's work, and we're going to see what they have to say on the topic.

For the following books I'm going to reference, know that I'm only scratching the surface of all the learning nuggets in each of the titles. If something resonates with you from a certain book, by the end of this episode, I highly encourage you to pick up a copy of your own and read it in its entirety. I'll put the links to each of the titles in the description. With that being said, let's begin.

Book Number 1
Leadership
In Turbulent Times
By Doris Kearns Goodwin

Quote #1
“Four case studies will reveal these vastly different men in action during defining events of their times and presidencies. These four extended examples show how their leadership fit the historical moment as a key fits a lock. No key is exactly the same; each has a different line of ridges and notches along its blade. While there is neither a master key to leadership nor a common lock of historical circumstance, we can detect a certain family resemblance of leadership traits as we trace the alignment of leadership capacity within its historical context. ... It is my hope that these stories of leadership in times of fracture and fear will prove instructive and reassuring. These men set a standard and a bar for all of us. Just as they learned from one another, so we can learn from them. And from them gain a better perspective on the discord of our times. For leadership does not exist in a void. Leadership is a two-way street. ‘I have only been an instrument,’ Lincoln insisted, with both accuracy and modesty, ‘the antislavery people of the country and the army have done it all.’ The progressive movement helped pave the way for Theodore Roosevelt’s ‘Square Deal,’ much as the civil rights movement provided the fuel to ignite the righteous and pragmatic activism that enabled the Great Society. And no one communicated with people and heard voices more clearly than Franklin Roosevelt. He absorbed their stories, listened carefully, and for a generation held a nonstop conversation with the people. ‘With public sentiment, nothing can fail,’ Abraham Lincoln said, ‘without it nothing can succeed.’ Such a leader is inseparably linked to the people. Such leadership is a mirror in which the people see their collective reflection.” (End Quote)

Quote #2
FIERCE AMBITION
“No single path carried them to the pinnacle of political leadership. Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt were born to extraordinary privilege and wealth. Abraham Lincoln endured relentless poverty. Lyndon Johnson experienced sporadic hard times. They differed widely in temperament, appearance, and physical ability. They were endowed with a divergent range of qualities often ascribed to leadership—intelligence, energy, empathy, verbal and written gifts, and skills in dealing with people. They were united, however, by a fierce ambition, an inordinate drive to succeed. With perseverance and hard work, they all essentially made themselves leaders by enhancing and developing the qualities they were given.” (End Quote)

Quote #3
“I MUST DIE OR BE BETTER” - LINCOLN
“What fired in Lincoln this furious and fertile time of self-improvement? The answer lay in his readiness to gaze in the mirror and soberly scrutinize himself. Taking stock, he found himself wanting. From the beginning, young Lincoln aspired to nothing less than to inscribe his name into the book of communal memory. To fulfill what he believed to be his destiny, a different kind of sustained effort and discipline was required, a willingness to confront weakness and
imperfection, reflect upon failure, and examine the kind of leader he wanted to be. The diligence and studiousness he exhibited during this period of introspection would have been remarkable in a young student; in a man of forty, it was astounding.” (End Quote)

Quote #4
LINCOLN’S GROWTH MINDSET
“While uncertain about his prospects in this first election, Lincoln made it clear that failure did not intimidate him. Should he lose, he had said when declaring his intention to run, he had been ‘too familiar with disappointments to be very much chagrined.’ And yet, he forewarned, only after being defeated ‘some 5 or 6 times’ would he deem it ‘a disgrace’ and be certain ‘never to try it again.’ So, along with the uncertainty of whether his ambition would be realized was the promise of resilience.” (End Quote)

Bonus Quote #5
FIND WAYS TO RELIEVE STRESS
“‘I find it pleasant when I have been hard at work at some big state question,’ Roosevelt told a friend, ‘to entirely change the current of my thoughts.’ Though possessed of no surpassing athletic gifts, robust activity was his way of keeping mental balance. His letters abound with accounts of raucous tennis matches, strenuous hikes in the wooded cliffs of Rock Creek Park, the numerous efforts to scour up sparring partners to box with him. He regaled his children with comic tales of being ‘thrown about’ by two Japanese wrestlers: ‘I am not the age or build one would think to be whirled lightly over an opponent’s head and batted down on a mattress without damage but they are so skillful that I’ve not been hurt at all.’ Sometimes, he relished jousting with his helmeted and armored friends in a game called Singlestick. Deprived of such zany exertions by his infected leg, Roosevelt turned with a vengeance to his most reliable recreation—books. From his earliest days, young Roosevelt had found in literature not only diversion but an escape into the lives of others, allowing him to embark vicariously on thrilling adventures, to breathe free, and accomplish great deeds. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that books were the chief building blocks of his identity. So now, confined to his wheelchair, he appealed to the librarian of Congress, Herbert Putnam, for ‘some books that would appeal to my queer taste’—histories of Poland or the early Mediterranean races. Two days later, fully gratified, he wrote to Putnam. ‘I owe you much! You sent me exactly the books I wished. I am now reveling in Maspero and occasionally make a deviation into Sergis’ theories about the Mediterranean races. . . . It has been such a delight to drop everything useful—everything that referred to my duty—everything, for instance, relating to the coal strike . . . and to spend an afternoon in reading about the relations between Assyria and Egypt; which could not possibly do me any good and in which I reveled accordingly.” (End Quote)

Book Number 2
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
by John C. Maxwell

Quote #1
“Whether you are a follower who is just beginning to discover the impact of leadership or a natural leader who already has followers, you can become a better leader. As you read about the laws, you may recognize that you already practice some of them very effectively. Other laws may expose weaknesses you didn’t know you had. Use your review as a learning experience. ... No matter where you are in the leadership process, know this: the greater the number of laws you learn, the better leader you will become. Each law is like a tool, ready to be picked up and used to help you achieve your dreams and add value to other people. Pick up even one, and you will become a better leader. Learn them all, and people will gladly follow you. Now, let’s open the toolbox together.” (End Quote)

Quote #2
LEADERS ARE LEARNERS
“In a study of ninety leaders from a variety of fields, leadership experts Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus made a discovery about the relationship between growth and leadership: ‘It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers.’ Successful leaders are learners. And the learning process is ongoing, a result of self-discipline and perseverance. The goal each day must be to get a little better, to build on the previous day’s progress. The problem is that most people overestimate the importance of events and underestimate the power of process. We want quick fixes. We want the compounding effect that Anne Scheiber received over fifty years, but we want it in fifty minutes. Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate events. They can be effective catalysts. But if you want lasting improvement, if you want power, then rely on process. ... If I need to be inspired to take steps forward, then I’ll attend an event. If I want to improve, then I’ll engage in a process and stick with it.”
(End Quote)

Quote #3
THE FOUNDATION OF LEADERSHIP? TRUST.
“Most high achievers spend time developing their professional skills. They seek to be highly competent. Fewer focus on their character. What are you currently doing to develop your character? I recommend that you focus on three main areas: integrity, authenticity, and discipline. To develop your integrity, make a commitment to yourself to be scrupulously honest. Don’t shave the truth, don’t tell white lies, and don’t fudge numbers. Be truthful even when it hurts. To develop authenticity, be yourself with everyone. Don’t play politics, role play, or pretend to be anything you’re not. To strengthen your discipline, do the right things every day regardless of how you feel.” (End Quote)

Quoted #4
GREAT LEADERS ARE VISIONARY *AND* PRACTICAL
“Great leaders always seem to embody two seemingly disparate qualities. They are both highly visionary and highly practical. Their vision enables them to see beyond the immediate. They can envision what’s coming and what must be done. Leaders possess an understanding of how:
Mission provides purpose—answering the question, Why?
Vision provides picture—answering the question, What?
Strategy provides a plan—answering the question, How?
As author Hans Finzel observed, ‘Leaders are paid to be dreamers. The higher you go in leadership, the more your work is about the future.’ At the same time, leaders are practical enough to know that vision without action achieves nothing. They make themselves responsible for helping their followers take action.”
(End Quote)

Bonus Quote #5
WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO SAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
“What do you want people to say at your funeral? That may seem like an odd question, but it may be the most important thing you can ask yourself as a leader. Most people never consider it. And that’s not good, because if they don’t, their lives and leadership can take a direction different from that of their greatest potential impact. If you want your leadership to really have meaning, you need to take into account the Law of Legacy.” (End Quote)

Book Number 3
The Leadership Challenge
How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations
By James Kouzes and Barry Posner

Quote #1
“Leaders get people moving. They energize and mobilize. They take people and organizations to places they have never been before. Leadership is not a fad, and the leadership challenge never goes away. In uncertain and turbulent times, accepting that challenge is the only antidote to chaos, stagnation, and disintegration. Times change, problems change, technologies change, and people change. Leadership endures. Teams, organizations, and communities need people to step up and take charge. That is why we wrote The Leadership Challenge, and why we found it imperative to write this fifth edition. Change is the province of leaders. It is the work of leaders to inspire people to do things differently, to struggle against uncertain odds, and to persevere toward a misty image of a better future. Without leadership there would not be the extraordinary efforts to solve existing problems and realize unimagined opportunities. We have today, at best, only faint clues of what the future may hold, but we are confident that without leadership the possibilities will neither be envisioned nor attained.”
(End Quote)

Quote #2
THE FIVE PRACTICES OF EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP
“We first asked people in the early 1980s to tell us what they did when they were at their ‘personal best’ in leading others, and we continue to ask this question of people around the world. After analyzing thousands of these leadership experiences, we discovered, and continue to find, that regardless of the times or setting, people who guide others along pioneering journeys follow surprisingly similar paths. Although each experience is unique in its individual expression, there were clearly identifiable behaviors and actions that made a difference. When making extraordinary things happen in organizations, leaders engage in what we call The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. They
• Model the Way
• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart
These leadership practices are not the private property of the people we studied. Nor do they belong to a few select shining stars. Leadership is not about who you are; it’s about what you do.” (End Quote)

Quote #3
THE FOUNDATION OF LEADERSHIP? CREDIBILITY.
“Credibility is the foundation of leadership. Constituents must be able, above all else, to believe in their leaders. For them to willingly follow someone else, they must believe that the leader’s word can be trusted, that she is personally passionate and enthusiastic about the work, and that she has the knowledge and skill to lead.” (End Quote)

Quote #4
DWYSYWD <— TOP LEADERSHIP TIP
“We refer to it as The Kouzes-Posner Second Law of Leadership: You build a credible foundation of leadership when you DWYSYWD—Do What You Say You Will Do. DWYSYWD has two essential parts: say and do. The practice of Model the Way links directly to these two dimensions of the behavioral definition of credibility. Modeling is about clarifying values and setting an example for others based on those values. The consistent living out of values is the way leaders demonstrate their honesty and trustworthiness. It’s what gives them the moral authority to lead. And that’s where we begin our discussion of The Five Practices.” (End Quote)

Bonus Quote #5
HOPES, DREAMS, ASPIRATIONS
“In every personal best-case, leaders talked about ideals. They expressed a desire to make dramatic changes in the business-as-usual environment. They reached for something grand, something magnificent, something that had never been done before. Visions are about ideals. They’re about hopes, dreams, and aspirations. They’re about the strong desire to achieve something great. They’re ambitious. They’re expressions of optimism. Can you imagine a leader enlisting others in a cause by saying, ‘I’d like you to join me in doing the ordinary’? Not likely. Visions stretch people to imagine exciting possibilities, breakthrough technologies, and revolutionary social change.” (End Quote)

Bonus Quote #6
CHALLENGES = CALLS TO GREATNESS
“When people recall their personal-best leadership experiences, they always think about some kind of challenge. Why? Because personal and business hardships have a way of making people come face-to-face with who they really are and what they’re capable of becoming. They test people, and they require inventive ways of dealing with new situations. They tend to bring out the best in people. When times are stable and secure, however, people are not severely tested. They may perform well, get promoted, and even achieve fame and fortune. But certainty and routine breed complacency.” (End Quote)

Bonus Quote #7
THE BEST KEPT SECRET OF LEADERSHIP
“Of all the things that sustain a leader over time, love is the most lasting. It’s hard to imagine leaders getting up day after day, putting in the long hours and hard work it takes to get extraordinary things done, without having their hearts in it. The best-kept secret of successful leaders is love: staying in love with leading, with the people who do the work, with what their organizations produce, and with those who honor the organization by using its products and services. Leadership is not an affair of the head. Leadership is an affair of the heart.” (End Quote)

Book Number 4
Extreme Ownership
How U.S. Navy SEALS Lead and Win
by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Quote #1
“The idea for this book was born from the realization that the principles critical for SEAL success on the battlefield—how SEALs train and prepare their leaders, how they mold and develop high-performance teams, and how they lead combat—are directly applicable to success in any group, organization, corporation, business, and, to a broader degree, life. This book provides the reader with our formula for success: the mind-set and guiding principles that enable SEAL leaders and combat units to achieve extraordinary results. It demonstrates how to apply these directly in business and life to likewise achieve victory.” (End Quote)

Quote #2
WHAT IS EXTREME OWNERSHIP?
“I explained that as the officer in charge of training for the West Coast SEAL Teams, we put SEAL units through highly demanding scenarios to get them ready for combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. When SEAL leaders were placed in worst-case-scenario training situations, it was almost always the leaders’ attitudes that determined whether their SEAL units would ultimately succeed or fail. We knew how hard the training missions were because we had designed them. In virtually every case, the SEAL troops and platoons that didn’t perform well had leaders who blamed everyone and everything else—their troops, their subordinate leaders, or the scenario. They blamed the SEAL training instructor staff; they blamed inadequate equipment or the experience level of their men. They refused to accept responsibility. Poor performance and mission failure were the result.
The best-performing SEAL units had leaders who accepted responsibility for everything. Every mistake, every failure or shortfall—those leaders would own it. During the debrief after a training mission, those good SEAL leaders took ownership of failures, sought guidance on how to improve, and figured out a way to overcome challenges on the next iteration. The best leaders checked their egos, accepted blame, sought out constructive criticism, and took detailed notes for improvement. They exhibited Extreme Ownership, and as a result, their SEAL platoons and task units dominated.” (End Quote)

Quote #3
THERE ARE NO BAD TEAMS, ONLY BAD LEADERS
“It was a shocking turn of events. Boat Crew VI, the same team in the same circumstances only under new leadership, went from the worst boat crew in the class to the best. Gone was their cursing and frustration. And gone too was the constant scrutiny and individual attention they had received from the SEAL instructor staff. Had I not witnessed this amazing transformation, I might have doubted it. But it was a glaring, undeniable example of one of the most fundamental and important truths at the heart of Extreme Ownership: there are no bad teams, only bad leaders.”
“Hell Week is not a fitness test. While it did require some athletic ability, every student that survived the weeks of BUD/S training prior to Hell Week had already demonstrated adequate fitness to graduate. It was not a physical test but a mental one.”
“The concept that there were no bad teams, only bad leaders was a difficult one to accept but nevertheless a crucial concept that leaders must fully understand and implement to enable them to most effectively lead a high-performance team. Leaders must accept total responsibility, own problems that inhibit performance, and develop solutions to those problems. A team could only deliver exceptional performance if a leader ensured the team worked together toward a focused goal and enforced high standards of performance, working to continuously improve. With a culture of Extreme Ownership within the team, every member of the team could contribute to this effort and ensure the highest levels of performance.” (End Quote)

Quote #4
ARE YOU A TRUE BELIEVER?
“In order to convince and inspire others to follow and accomplish a mission, a leader must be a true believer in the mission. Even when others doubt and question the amount of risk, asking, ‘Is it worth it?’ the leader must believe in the greater cause. If a leader does not believe, he or she will not take the risks required to overcome the inevitable challenges necessary to win. And they will not be able to convince others—especially the frontline troops who must execute the mission—to do so. Leaders must always operate with the understanding that they are part of something greater than themselves and their own personal interests. They must impart this understanding to their teams down to the tactical-level operators on the ground. Far more important than training or equipment, a resolute belief in the mission is critical for any team or organization to win and achieve big results.” (End Quote)

Bonus Quote #5
PRIORITIZE AND EXECUTE
“On the battlefield, countless problems compound in a snowball effect, every challenge complex in its own right, each demanding attention. But a leader must remain calm and make the best decisions possible. To do this, SEAL combat leaders utilize Prioritize and Execute. We verbalize this principle with this direction: ‘Relax, look around, make a call.’ Even the most competent of leaders can be overwhelmed if they try to tackle multiple problems or a number of tasks simultaneously. The team will likely fail at each of those tasks. Instead, leaders must determine the highest priority task and execute. When overwhelmed, fall back upon this principle: Prioritize and Execute.” (End Quote)

Bonus Quote #6
HOW ARE YOUR 3 ALARM CLOCKS?
“Discipline starts every day when the first alarm clock goes off in the morning. I say ‘first alarm clock’ because I have three, as I was taught by one of the most feared and respected instructors in SEAL training: one electric, one battery powered, one windup. That way, there is no excuse for not getting out of bed, especially with all that rests on that decisive moment. The moment the alarm goes off is the first test; it sets the tone for the rest of the day. The test is not a complex one: when the alarm goes off, do you get up out of bed, or do you lie there in comfort and fall back to sleep? If you have the discipline to get out of bed, you win—you pass the test. If you are mentally weak for that moment and you let that weakness keep you in bed, you fail. Though it seems small, that weakness translates to more significant decisions. But if you exercise discipline, that too translates to more substantial elements of your life.”
“Last, and perhaps most important, when things went wrong and the fog of war set in, we fell back on our disciplined procedures to carry us through the toughest challenges on the battlefield.” (End Quote)

Bonus Quote #7
LEADING PEOPLE: CHALLENGING + GRATIFYING
“While there is no guarantee of success in leadership, there is one thing that is certain: leading people is the most challenging and, therefore, the most gratifying undertaking of all human endeavors. So, with that humbling reward in the distance, embrace the burden of command and go forward onto your battlefield, in whatever arena that may be, with the disciplined resolve to take Extreme Ownership, lead, and win.” (End Quote)

I don't know about you, but my brain is on fire, with all kinds of new thoughts, on how I can maybe tweak a couple things and be a little better, improve just 1% on something, for the betterment of others.

Well that concludes another episode of the hockey journey podcast. I can’t thank you enough for stopping by and listening. I hope you enjoyed this segment on Leadership, and If you think there’s someone in your circle of family and friends that might like this episode as well, please share it with just one person, it will really help me in growing this hockey community.

Again, I appreciate you being here, don’t forget to subscribe, rate or submit a review, I hope to see you back here soon, and do me a favor, make someone close to you smile today. All the best my friends!!

Leadership (Part 1) EP45

Team Training