Get in the batter’s box and swing! The Baseball parallel reminds us until Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth struck out more times than any other player, yet The Babe also hit more home runs than anyone. Regardless of the category, most of us have a mixture of love and respect for a “leader” (best defined as “a take-charge doer”). Baseball or business, in the end we’re judged by the score.
What’s more, everyone needs a leader. The model of “one quarterback, one team” can’t be taken lightly. Conversely, only disrespect is afforded the pretender who promotes his or her own agenda. The best group executives, the best market managers, the best program directors, really don’t expect “everybody’s love” since the respect they’re shown adequately fills the void.
As a leader over a period of time you’ll necessarily accumulate both correct and incorrect decisions; back to the “strikeouts” versus “home runs” reality. What really matters is our accumulative record; recruiting, developing and retaining impact people across a span of time. Only then can we look back for a legitimate measurement and ask, “Did our correct decisions far outweigh the effects of our mistakes?”
Three factors lead directly to the outcome:
1. Judgment: do you have the talent, experience and patience that lead to accurate decision-making? We’d all hope and expect to be in the “plus” category but anyone who claims “no mistakes” in hiring or in tactical decision-making, hasn’t walked far enough out on the ledge. Every highly successful CEO, department head, military officer or head coach will admit to occasional mistakes along the way.
2. Decisiveness: do you have the courage to make tough decisions at the right time? And can you rationally persuade peers and associates to accept them? Can you respond “yes” or “no” without being plagued by the old bromide “paralysis by analysis?” Introspection is fine; certainly a core property of leadership! But when it comes to “yes” or “no,” are you willing to commit yourself; can you swing the bat?
3. Time: each of us in a leadership role is in a contest with time. Assuming our decision is to charge forward, without a time line by which our team members can measure progress against a project’s critical path, we may be checking gas tanks with a match. Time is unforgiving and it’s not automatically on our side!
As harsh as it might seem, exceptional leaders are never completely “satisfied” with their results. Eventually some profitable companies become “comfortable companies,” ultimately profitable no longer. Radio is one of the few endeavors where like Alpo Dog food, we can claim two sets of customers. The best among us super-serve both.
