Tim Rahauser
Richie Meade’s “Pillars of Leadership”
US National Lacrosse Team Head Coach
Former Navy Lacrosse Head Coach
“ Leadership is a
contact sport, if you are not willing to act, you cannot lead”
Important to understanding leadership, Coach Meade, the Head
Men’s Lacrosse coach for Army, started a lecture on leadership by explaining
the divisions of herding sheep. Why? I’ll explain.
In an over simplification of the divisions of the world,
Meade described the world in three divisions: the sheep, the sheep dogs, and
the wolves.
First, there are the
Sheep. They believe that the world
could not be any better. As they spend their days grazing in the fields and
following each other around, they are oblivious to the harms of the world. The only pest in their lives, are the sheep
dogs.
Consequently, the
Sheep dogs are the second division in the world. The sheep dogs are constantly pestering the
sheep to do something out of their routine. They are never doing anything to
harm the sheep, but the sheep would rather not listen to the sheep dogs. For
example, when the sheep want to graze in the pasture, the sheep dogs want them
to move elsewhere. What the sheep do not
comprehend is that the sheep dogs are protecting the sheep from the third
division of the world, the wolves.
The wolves are
the evil in the world for the sheep. In
fact, the sheep go as far as denying the existence of the wolves. On the contrary, the wolf is fully aware of
the existence of the sheep and spends its time hunting them.
So what does any of this have to do with Leadership?
I know, I was wondering the same thing.
The correlation is the importance of the Sheep Dog. The entire time that the sheep are annoyed by
the direction given to them by the sheep dogs, it is for their own good. Little do the sheep know, the sheep dogs are
continually moving the sheep in protection from the wolves, good pastures for
food and water, and shaded areas to rest. And in the case that the wolves come
to attack, it is the sheep dogs that step up to defend the sheep. Even if they are out numbered, the sheep dogs
defend the sheep. They are acting not
because they want to fight the wolves, but because it’s right to protect the herd.
“Ohhhhh!” I felt the expression across the room, even if it
was not audible. His point was made and understood.
But how exactly does this transfer to human leadership? After all, we are not sheep dogs. Our lives are
much more complex than the life of a sheep dog - I hope.
The answer is “ Ethical
Leadership”. There are numerous forms
of leadership and ways to be a leader, but important to all leadership is doing
it Ethically. We might not be able to fight a wolf, but we
are all capable of standing up for a common cause. Ethical leadership is about acting upon what
is right, even when the majority of a team, group of friends, or herd of sheep
are actively pursuing an alternate path.
Learning and understanding personal standards is a good
start. Know what you believe in and act
in accordance with these standards. Once
your standards are set, it is not good enough to simply agree upon them - you
must act upon them.
Coach Meade gave a great anecdote describing actions during the
Battle of the Bulge in 1944. The Battle
of the Bulge was a German assault on the United States 1st
infantry. The Germans were lead by a
notorious leader named Joachim Peiper.
During the Battle of the Bulge, Pieper’s troops captured and killed
American soldiers. He had the prisoners
line up unarmed in the middle of a field, only to be shot continuously by the
Germans.
Now, the Americans had German prisoners in their custody as
well. They were faced with the choice to execute the German soldiers in
retaliation, or the choice to refrain from killing them. For whatever reason, they chose not to
execute the German soldiers. When the United States 1st infantry
soldiers were asked later why they did not retaliate they claimed, “ It was
legal, but it wasn’t right”.
So how does this translate to ethical leadership?
Leadership is not Retaliation.
Being a leader is not reciprocating a penalty. Being a
leader is acting in ways that supersede adversity. When conflicts arise, these are the moments to
act in ethical leadership. These moments are critical to defining and acting
upon team standards.
Example: you get slashed and there is no call - do not slash
the opponent - work harder to win the next ground ball. Put the game and the team in perspective. One extra ground ball won can lead to a
winning goal. One unnecessary penalty
can lead to a losing goal. Think about
it.
Winning games is about doing the little things right that
lead to goals and strong defensive plays.
Meade clearly stated, “It is not about preventing the crisis; it is
about preventing the cracks that lead to the crisis.” Committing a penalty instead of winning a
ground ball can be the crack that happens before the losing goal. I am not saying this is always the case, but
it is an example of one play making the difference.
With that in mind, one lapse as a leader can mean a lost
opportunity to be a leader. Those who
are respected as leaders are respected because they are committed to acting
upon their standards as a leader. Meade
said, “Leadership is a 24/7 job. Leaders do not have the option to chose their
moments.” This does not mean that
leaders have to take on a superhuman approach. Simply put, leaders must be
consistent in their approach on and off the field.
At this point, if you are thinking that being a leader is more
like being some sort of god, I can understand your anxiety. But, within the extensive advice about
stepping up as a leader, I think there is an important “take- away” point. How
about this?
The next time you are in a situation where you think you
have a choice between doing something right or doing something to the contrary,
do what you think is right.
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