13 Practices Of Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time

All leaders want to last and stand the test of time.  Great leaders strive for consistency and excellence.  Constant failure and disqualification are two qualities no leader wants on their resume.  In addition, no leader wants to be a flash in the pan or have people ask, “What if?”

So how does a leader last?  In Baltimore there is a story unfolding involving the Ravens head coach John Harbaugh which helps answer the question.  In today’s Sports Illustrated article which you can read here, the great writer Peter King profiled Harbaugh.

After reading the article, I gleaned the following 13 Practices Of Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time:

1. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Surround Themselves With Talented People – We are all better leaders when we have talented people on our team than when we do not.  Harbaugh has had quarterback Joe Flacco his entire seven years as coach.
2. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Continually Meet Expectations – If you continually miss expectations, you will not last as a leader.  Harbaugh has averaged 11.7 wins during his tenure with the Ravens including playoffs.
3. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Produce When It Matters Most – There are times in every organization when leadership matters more than others.  Harbaugh has a 10-4 record during the playoffs.
4. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Report To Patient Leaders – There is an epidemic in our world today with leaders who fire people or end projects simply out of boredom or impatience.  These leaders continually harm long-term progress and short-circuit their organization’s growth.  Harbaugh reports to Steve Bisciotti who has stated he does not want to fire another coach.  Bisciotti also fashions himself after stable organizations like the New York Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers.
5. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Are Part Of Organizations Who Stand The Test Of Time – Harbaugh, Bisciotti, Flacco and general manager Ozzie Newsome have all been together seven years.  Newsome is the senior member of the group at age 58.  This leadership group should remain intact a minimum of 7-10 more years.
6. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Have Relational Skills – To last people must enjoy being around you.  Wide receiver Steve Smith says, “Coaching is about relationships and John has one-on-ones with everybody on the team, all the time. Breakfasts, lunches, dinners, on the practice field.”
7. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Aspire To Stand The Test Of Time – Harbaugh told King, “That would be the ultimate accomplishment. The Chuck Nolls, the Don Shulas … What those guys did, that would be the ultimate thing, because having success over a long period of time, the way the National Football League is set up nowadays, that would be an incredible thing. That would be … that would just be something, really.”
8. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Operate Within A Team Concept – When looking for potential Ravens, Harbaugh noted he met with Newsome every Thursday to go over the league’s players.
9. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Value Preparation – Preparation is always embedded in hard work.  Regarding the aforementioned search for quality players, Harbaugh continued, ““We went over every player in the league who was either on a practice squad or the bottom of somebody’s roster, or guys on the street, that we would have some interest in. We studied all of them. So when we lost guys, we didn’t have to start a search for guys. We already had our list.”
10. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Are Humble – Prideful leaders do not stand the test of time.  Harbaugh noted about the Ravens leadership team, “It starts with Steve Bisciotti, Ozzie Newsome and [president] Dick Cass. Nobody cares who gets the credit. Nobody’s trying to out-do somebody else so he’ll look good.”
11. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Are Persistent – Lasting leaders simply show up day after day, year and year.  Regarding this year’s team, Harbaugh said, “What we are is persistent. Relentlessly persistent in what we do. Over time, that pays off.”
12. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Give Others Confidence – Flacco says, “The thing with John is, he’s there every day in the team meeting, so confident, and I think we feed off him. He does a great job not only setting up the schedule every day for us to be our very best, but also portraying the confidence. I think now, even more so. I’ve been here every day he has. He’s even more confident this year. For whatever reason it definitely rubs off.”
13. Highly Successful Leaders Who Stand The Test Of Time Do So One Day At A Time – Harbaugh concludes, “We just gotta win a game. Just gotta play better than them one game…Play football better than they do for one night. One game…While you might think about something like longevity the only way you survive is by thinking one second, one play, one minute at a time.”

I would also add character and integrity to what is required for a leader to stand the test of time.  What other qualities would you add?

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