Better Today Than Yesterday (BTTY)
Better Today Than Yesterday
What do you look for in a leader?
2
0:00
-4:10

What do you look for in a leader?

🎧 #45
2

I interviewed someone recently and asked, “What do you look for in a leader?”

They said, “Care. If they don’t care, nothing else matters. If they care, everything matters.”

I think that’s right. We need competence, but first, we need care. This isn’t just caring for the team but caring about the mission.

Care is a decision.

No training, no experience, just show up. Here are a few things that come to mind about people who care.

  • They take 'it' on as a burden and say ‘I’m accountable.’

  • They don’t quit when it gets hard or the path is unclear.

  • They iterate, refine, and continuously make better when no one is looking.

  • They know it’s not about them. It’s about the people counting on them.

  • They will do everything they can to make the team proud and deliver on their promises.

  • They check their ego at the door and admit when they don’t know, or when they’re wrong.

  • They take blame and give credit.

Competence is experience.

In the beginning, caring is enough. Over the long term, you must be competent too. This takes focus, humility, and care.

Coach John Wooden led the UCLA Bruins to 10 national championships and NEVER had a losing season. He famously started each season teaching ALL players how to tie their shoes.

Can you imagine that today?! There they were - 15 tier-one athletes sitting on a gleaming hardwood floor in their stocking feet. They meticulously weaved laces through their size 14s as Coach Wooden paced, doling out instructions . I don’t think any of them questioned the practice. They were professionals, and professionals take everything seriously.

Sahil Bloom, in his article about the differences between amateurs and professionals, says,

“The greatest performers in any craft share one trait: They have a routine and stick to it with intense discipline. Most of what we call greatness is simply the result of tiny daily actions done well—over and over and over again. They are interested in the process, not the prize.”

Here are things that come to mind for me if you are trying to be competent:

  • Do the reps. Again and again.

  • Have the humility to view everyone, and every event, as your teacher.

  • Have the discipline to do the little things that matter.

  • And be relentless about better.

Remember, leaders are NOT responsible for all the answers, just all the decisions. Don’t pretend you can do anything. It’s only together that we can do anything.

Don’t Be Out Worked Cared

Mastering your craft starts with care. Care will take you through the low points and the frustrations. It will open your aperture to the possibilities. It will get you off the floor and out of the fetal position. It will allow you to say you’re sorry. It will force you to find the truth and lead with honesty. Care means love of the team, the mission, and the craft.

Competency is not an end state, it’s a journey. We care to keep getting better.

Go get it, friends.

2 Comments
Better Today Than Yesterday (BTTY)
Better Today Than Yesterday
Hey! Join me as I share my lessons about life, leadership, and the peaceful pursuit of Better Today Than Yesterday.
Listen on
Substack App
RSS Feed
Appears in episode
Kelly Vohs