Amid the
rising anxiety and
anger vexing Americans today, I wanted to write
about what it means to lead in
this nasty environment. First I thought about
focusing on the president, then congress,
or corporate leaders; but each time I started,
I found myself veering back to
one person in particular: my high school tennis
coach, who just won a national
award for his exemplary leadership, and who has
some lessons to inspire us all.
There are more than
enough
examples these days of challenges of leading in
a nasty world. But anything I
would say points me back to Rich Johns, a real
life example of a genuine
leader. Last week, Rich won
the Starfish Award given out by the United
States
Tennis Association, for his “no-cut” system
of high school coaching. Every kid
who comes out to play is on the team. But
that’s only the beginning of the
story.
First off, don’t
misread how
or why he won the USTA award: he’s no
pushover. Lesson #1, He loves winning,
and he’s not afraid to say so. Indeed, he’s
one of the most demanding people
I’ve ever known. His teams (both girls and
boys) win religiously. Lesson #2, he
expects each player to leave everything
they’ve got on the court. He will
settle for nothing less than highly competitive
play. I’ll never forget the season
I played number one singles for him, and during
one match I got sick and was hit
by heat stroke. I didn’t want to quit, and
nor did he ask me to. Instead, he
laid me out on the cool shower-room floor,
doused me with water, and then
talked me into going back on the court to
finish and win the match. He doesn’t
like to lose.
But then there’s
Lesson #3: he
expects fair play at every turn and he brooks
no one crossing the line. I’ve
seen him argue firmly and openly with other
coaches about their players’ cheating;
and I’ve seen him take on his own players for
the same. To him, there are some
rules that should never be broken because they
strike to the very heart of what
it means to have integrity.
Lesson #4 is that he
expects
his players to play with respect. He’s a
legend in my hometown for this, and
it’s something he’s fast becoming
nationally known for.
Rich implores you to fight your
hardest, but always treat others with honor and
dignity. These can be difficult
notions to hold simultaneously. But the
bottom-most player deserves the same
respect as the top dog. Everyone participates;
no one sits courtside. No
excuses, ever. You
show respect
for others, and you learn to respect yourself.
What does this have to
do
with the national scene today? Two keys I want
to mention here. First, in
sports, as in politics, and in all parts of
life, we need more leaders like
Rich Johns. You always know where he stands,
and he always speaks clearly so
you can hear him. He doesn’t hide, flinch, or
retreat. What he values is
crystal clear. What’s more, what he does is
not about himself or his own
aggrandizement; rather, he seeks to advance a
cause larger than himself (in case,
the life and growth of kids). And in pursuit of
this cause, he is never dogmatic,
always open to working things out. And yet, if
it comes down to compromising his
core principles, he’s willing to lose and
play for another day. We need more
leaders like Rich.
Here’s the second
key: when
you find leaders like Rich – whether
they’re athletic coaches or politicians or
someone else – let them know that you value
and support them, even if, or
especially when, you do not agree with them.
Too many leaders are getting
undercut in these nasty times. Please, sit down
and write them a letter or
email today to let them know! When we see good
leaders, we must stand by them.
So, for me, thanks
Rich
Johns, for being my mentor and friend since
1974, when we first met, when I was
only 14 years old. Thank you for being someone
I look up to, stand by, and love
with all my heart.