Leadership is... Knowing Why

I have something a little different for today than the usual word. I've been made aware of an excellent internet video, and I wanted to share it.

The video captures a great talk about "How Great Leaders Inspire." It is given by a man named Simon Sinek and discusses a theory perhaps more geared toward professional business types, but still very, very applicable when you consider a host of other things, not the least of which is our football family. It is a very cool theory talking about how, throughout history, the very greatest of leaders have approach life differently. They key is that they start with the "why" instead of the "what." (That last link is to his web page if you'd like to read more.)

We've run a series here called #WhyICoach. At the very core of our program is the "why." Coach Gilbert has made it very clear: We do this because we believe a high school football program can be the most amazing experience of someone's life. He knows why. Manager, player, coach, parent, fan, starving child; it doesn't matter. Many of us are here because we've already experienced the truth of that goal at some point in our lives. Some of us are even experiencing it again, some for the first time.

The "what" of high school football is very easy to see. The chance for victories, glory, competition. The opportunity to influence a community and make a difference. These are all "whats." For us, they all stem from the why of attempting to achieve an amazing experience, of enhancing lives. At the very heart, it is our staunch believe that involvement in sport has the extraordinary potential to enhance lives and communities. This is why we do what we do.

To truly be the family we are meant to be, each member has to answer that question for themselves. Why are you a part of the team? Do you believe in the potential of sport? Do you believe what we believe?

Wins, hard work, making a difference... these are all things that will naturally follow once you know your "why." I think most people get stuck on winning and losing, on the what. We very much want to win, and here's why: To win, you need to outplay your opponent. To outplay your opponent, you need to outwork them, and this can be directly traced back to our PRIDE mantra. If every player takes personal responsibility for their daily effort, then we will outwork our opponent. But why give that effort? If your answer is "to win," then there are going to be days when you don't feel like giving that effort. Winning, by itself, is simply not enough. What if you don't play? What if you're injured? What if you feel disconnected from that win in some other way? These things happen in sports.

However, if you start with the "why" of creating an amazing experience, you avoid these pitfalls of effort. Why do you work hard in practice? To create an amazing experience. Why do you play hard on the field every play? To create an amazing experience. Why do you cheer from the sideline? To create an amazing experience. Why do you get pumped for service opportunities and give that some of your time? To create an amazing experience.

You have the chance to create an amazing experience for someone every day. Whether it's packing thousands of meals to feed the hungry, or selflessly giving it your all on the last sprint of the day, or just working hard in the classroom to stay eligible and improve your mind... these are things you decide to do. And if you constantly have to answer the question "why am I doing this," it's going to be very tough to stay motivated. If are already grounded in that answer, if you're focused on creating an amazing life experience for you and everyone around you, that answer becomes very easy to see. This is exactly why we say we are "hungry to serve."

Packing meals doesn't directly get us any more wins. A single selfless sprint won't show up on the stat sheet. But I guarantee you that it improves the experience. Yours, your teammates, your parents, your schoolmates, the fans, a starving child. Everything we do is done with the "why" in mind. We don't always knock it out of the park; we're human. But we know why we're doing it. We're working hard to create an amazing life experience.

Wins follow effort. To give maximum effort, you have to know why you're doing what you're doing. Our football family can achieve an amazing experience. We can be great leaders in everything we do. Unlike a Friday night victory, the experience we choose to create on a daily basis is completely within our control. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it. Do you believe? Are you hungry?

Here's our PRIDE pin list from last week (Brownsburg): Nick Alatza, Renzo Alvarez, Milo Beam, Josh Beer, Josh Blanton, Zane Burtron, Elvin Caldwell, Sam Coe, Johnny Crawford, Gavin Cross, Matt Crupi, Stephen Curry, Anthony Daugherty, Chris Davis, Turner Edwards, Nick Ferrer, Joey Freeze, David George, A.J. Gilchrist, Brock Ginder, Normando Gonzalez, Jake Grace, Cam Harrison, Warrick Hinshaw, Adrien Hobleman, Adam Horkay, Ben Huntley, Hunter Jakositz, Daniel Kainrath, Matt Kinney, Kory Kostecka, Nick Krieg, Zack Krieg, Dan Liebbe, Carson Lorts, Ben Lotfalian, Will McCool, Max McCool, Cole McCrary, Eric Miner, Zach Rader, Eric Rearden, Devin Reece, Jacob Robinson, Jay Simons, Evan Slagle, Deryion Sturdivant, Cory Sucese, Jacob Tebbe, Kelly Thompson, Mitch Turley, Sam Walden, Colin White, Nick Woerner, Madi Turley.

That seems like a lot of names, doesn't it? Well, it only represents 38% of our team. Our best so far this year is 50% (Fishers week), and I think we've already created a pretty cool experience. We've done a lot of good, and at best, as a team, only have 50% of our effort capacity.

Make no mistake, holding yourself personally responsible for your effort day in and day out is a very challenging expectation. The fact that these people were able to put that focus together for 7 straight days is certainly commendable. There are people in this world that will never achieve a string of 7 days of top effort in their entire life. Still, imagine what we could do with everyone making that PRIDE pin list. Imagine the experience we could create. And it starts with answering a simple question:

Why?