Have you ever wondered what it would take to be the very best at what you do in an industry that has been around 50 years or more? All leaders have. Recently, I was reading the 1972 Hall Of Fame induction speech of Gino Marchetti by then Baltimore Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom. Rosenbloom provided a great picture into what is needed to be the absolute best in your profession.
Marchetti played defensive end for the Dallas Texans (now Dallas Cowboys) and Baltimore Colts. When the NFL announced its all-star team of their first 50 years, he was picked as the finest to ever play his position at that point in the league’s history. The following are excerpts from Rosenbloom’s speech.
The following are 8 Traits Of The Very Best Leaders:
- “An Outstanding and Unending Committment to Excellence” – For apex leaders, the standards they set for themselves are higher than any set by others.
- “A Willingness to Submerge Himself Individually Within a Group Effort” – Are you more interested in your personal success or that of your teams you lead? The goal of top level leaders is to get your entire team across the finish line.
- “Courage” – Leadership requires taking one more step into a future that is unknown.
- “An Acceptance of Pain” – There are perks to leadership and there is a price to leadership. Leaders have to be willing to pay the price of pain.
- “A Love For What He Is Doing” – A successful leader is someone who loves to do something and is fortunate enough to get somebody to pay him to do it.
- “A Notation of Achievement” – What is your leadership marked by? Is it marked by results or constant disappointment?
- “Respect For Worthy Adversaries” – We live in a competitive world and you are not up against chopped liver out there. The quality of your achievement is largely determined by the level of your competitioin and what is needed for success.
- “The Realization That Not All In Life Can Be Success and Victorious” – Successful people are not the ones who never fail. They are the ones who get knocked down and simply keep getting back up one more time than those who don’t.
Leaders, how many of these eight traits do you have? If nothing else, this at least gives you a glimpse into the leadership areas you need to develop.
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