That requires your ruthlessly consistent, commitment to leadership by tangible example.
“‘Guys we always need to be improving. Always evolving.. getting better every day!’
-Static Coaches who haven’t evolved in years.
Cute buzz phrases don’t inspire growth in kids.
Your ruthlessly consistent commitment to leadership by tangible example does.”
-Ray Zingler on X
I remember as a young kid playing football, we were conditioning one day after practice.
And a Coach, who was out of shape, who obviously didn’t prioritize physical conditioning in his own life was barking at us to sprint. To give more effort.
I did because I was always taught to respect my elders, but I always knew that coach, and many coaches like him weren’t great leaders.
They may say all the phrases and buzz words, but they don’t live the code in their own lives and you can tell with a quick glance at their gut.
I’m not saying that all coaches and authority figures must have 6-packs, but if you’re a slob, telling me to work hard, your depth of reach in my life is going to be extremely minimal.
And then you have a guy like dad.
Disciplined to the T and always looking like he was cut out of stone.
And hell yeah, he’d ‘tell’ me what to do, but he always backed it up with his actions and I knew he lived the code.
I watched him live it, even when he didn’t think I was watching.
So, who am I going to take more from?
A slob of an individual barking at me or a guy who I watch live the shit every day?
The ladder, right?
This is why I believe it is critical for all leaders to spend less time barking recycled buzz phrases at kids and spend far more time living the code of what they are preaching.
You don’t curate growth in kids by telling them what to do.
You inspire growth in kids with your ruthlessly consistent commitment to leadership by TANGIBLE example.
I did my push-ups because I watched dad do his push-ups, not because he told me to.
Too many people these days rest on their laurels of tenure and senior status and falsely believe they can just “say it” to get their point across because they “lived it back in their day” (my ass you did.)
But even if you did, guess what..
It’s not your day anymore.
It’s their day.
Live your example with your actions.
Not your words.
It’s the only way you’ll ever make a real difference.
