Having young leaders in your church or organization gives you a hope and chance at a productive future. Young leaders bring energy, enthusiasm and new ideas. But they must be developed because they do not arrive as finished products.
I recently completed the new book The QB: The Making Of Modern Quarterbacks by Bruce Feldman. Being a quarterback is the most leadership intensive position in pro sports. Modern NFL quarterbacks must possess high intelligence, handle complex information, have quick and accurate decision making skills, be leaders of leaders and handle significant conflict and disappointment with excellence.
As I read Feldman’s account of making a quarterback, I realized it was a picture of what is necessary to develop young leaders in any environment. The following are 20 Things Pastors, Coaches, and Business Leaders Must Know About Leading Young Leaders I gleaned from the book. Many of the quotes are from ESPN analyst and quarterback coach Trent Dilfer.
- You Must Have Realistic Expectations When Leading Young Leaders – There is high-risk and high-reward when leading young leaders. From 1994 to 2013, 50 quarterback were selected in the first round. 40% were busts. Only six ever started and won a Super Bowl. The 2010 high school class of quarterbacks contained 31 players deemed to be blue chip prospects. Only four (13%) won starting jobs in college.
- Find Young Leaders With Passion And Get Them On Your Team – Dilfer said, “I don’t care how smart they think I am. I want you to love football more than you already do. Because I love it. I love the purity of it. I want you to love it as much as I do.”
- Make It Your Goal As An Experienced Leader To Maximize The Potential Of Young Leaders – Dilfer says about coaching, “It’s getting the most from the least and the best from the best.”
- Young Leaders Underestimate The Power Of Influence – Dilfer added, “it’s (the quarterback) also the most influential position in sports. What the dude with the ball does affects the lady in the office across the hall. It affects everybody.”
- Young Leaders Can Often Process Large Amounts Of Information – Dilfer said, “Your soul has more to do with your success than your arm strength. You ability to ‘chunk’ and process large amounts of information in real time is probably more important than how quick your feet are. How about your ability to walk into a room and everybody in there feels your presence?” He calls this a leader’s “competitive disposition.”
- You Must Teach Young Leaders The Importance Continual Development – Dilfer said about Aaron Rodgers, the best quarterback in the NFL, “He was good – not great. He was fiercely competitive, though, and he wanted to be the best and was willing to learn anything. So, his body developed, and he thought outside the box in terms of his development…This guy is the perfect example of what can happen when you never stop developing. You’re not what you were when you came out of college, or at least you don’t have to be.”
- You Must Teach Young Leaders About Perseverance – Struggle is necessary for strength. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Young leaders do not realize how difficult leadership is and often quit just before a significant breakthrough. Dilfer teaches at “the edge of uncomfortable is greatness.”
- You Must Help Young Leaders Develop A Big Picture View Of Life – Dilfer continued, “You never let circumstances around you affect what you do.”
- Young Leaders Often Suffer From A Sense Of Entitlement – This is arguably the top issue with today’s young leaders. Dilfer would agree. He says, “The biggest problem that you get as an athlete is not about where you came from or if you come from a single-parent home; it’s about growing up with a sense of entitlement.”
- Arrogance Will Cause Young Leaders To Fail – You must deal with arrogance and disobedience. Nathan Fitch said, “It’s his (Johnny Manziel) nature to not listen to anyone trying to tell him what to do.”
- You Must Teach Young Leaders Talk Is Cheap. Results Matter – Dilfer said, “(The) best thing my dad ever said to me was, ‘Don’t tell me. Show me.'”
- You Must Teach Young Leaders The Value Of Relationships – Elite 11 coach Jordan Palmer said, “I told ’em the two biggest things he (unnamed high school quarterback) has to work on are coachability and likability.”
- You Must Teach Young Leaders Little Things Done Well Yield Big Results – Dilfer learned, “Consistency comes with doing the little things, mechanics, discipline; all that will allow your athleticism to come out.”
- Young Leaders Often Do Not Know The Difference Between A Starting Line And A Finish Line – Dilfer said, “The biggest mistake was feeling like I’d gotten there (NFL), like it was about the culmination of the hard work instead of the beginning of the hard work.”
- Young Leaders Will Fail – The question is whether they can learn from failure. Dilfer noted, “From humiliation comes humility.” He added, “I teach 95% from my failures, not my successes.”
- Young Leaders Need Simplicity – Dilfer tells us about his former coach in Seattle, “Mike Holmgren (former NFL head coach) is the most gifted person I’ve ever been around at taking the super complex and making it digestible.”
- Young Leaders Need Nurture – Dilfer feels nurture more than nature produces great quarterbacks. He said, “I’m 100% sold on nurture, ’cause the streets are littered with talented kids, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame is littered with guys who aren’t that talented. They have great ‘figure-it-outness.’ They make great decisions. They develop.”
- Young Leaders Need Clarity – George Whitfield said, “If you’re not specific, something can mean different things to different people.”
- Do Not Underestimate The Potential Of Young Leaders – June Jones said, “I had this conversation with (former Denver Broncos head coach) Dan Reeves. He wanted to get rid of John Elway. He said (a Stanford graduate) Elway couldn’t learn the playbook. But guess who was so great in the two-minute drill? John Elway. Guess who was calling the plays then? John Elway.”
- Give Young Leaders Responsibility And Let Them Lead – Jones continues, “In two-minute situations, let him call his own plays. In those heated situations, (Jim) Kelly went no-huddle; (Brett) Favre, Elway, (Dan) Marino – they all called their own plays. Let them lead.”
What else do you feel is important when leading young leaders?
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