Lombardi Leadership

What’s Your Legacy?

Often known for saying “the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary” Vince Lombardi was an NFL legendary coach and leader.  Not only did he expect hard work on the field, he expected his players to also have strong character and lead with integrity.

A culture is built by its leadership.  The overall culture of any organization comes down to what the leadership will tolerate.  Don’t tolerate anything that goes against the strong culture you want for your people.  If they don’t like it, they will leave, one way or another.  

Lombardi found his passion and leadership style through struggle as a child of Italian immigrants growing up in Brooklyn. He experienced harsh discrimination which lead to his resilience and no-tolerance attitude.

He lived and preached a no-tolerance attitude or prejudice and always kept his team together no matter what. He cared about his team and they knew he “had their backs.”  This was apparent in his statement on the qualities of leadership, “A leader must identify himself with the group, must back up the group, even at the risk of displeasing superiors. He must believe that the group wants from him a sense of approval. If this feeling prevails, production, discipline, morale will be high, and in return, you can demand the cooperation to promote the goals of the community. 

Too many times in today’s workplace leadership struggles with unclear messages, giving in to self-doubt, not doing the right thing and tolerant attitudes of unacceptable behavior.  But with a Lombardi-like leadership we can model a sense of hard-work, commitment, and discipline that increases production and team cohesiveness which will breed excellence.

You set the tone for your team.  So demand excellence, commitment, and no tolerance for anything conspiring against the success of your team.  If they know you have their back, they will have yours too.

Does your team trust and follow you?  Do they know your expectations?

Vince Lombardi is a legacy in the NFL and as a Leader?  What is your legacy?