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on October 2, 2021 in Sports Leadership

A Night-Time Grocery Clerk

In 1994, a man in his early 20’s was stocking shelves during the night-shift at a local Hy-Vee grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  Even though is compensation was only $5.50 per hour, he had incredibly high-standards and was committed to excellence.  His goal was to have the best-looking aisle in the entire store when customers arrived the next morning.
The man’s name was Kurt Warner.  He had recently been cut by the Green Bay Packers as their fourth-string quarterback.  However, he kept working towards his dream of playing in the NFL.  After stints in the Arena League and NFL Europe, Warner finally got his chance and the rest is pro football history.

A Hall Of Fame Super Bowl Champion

Warner became a two-time NFL Most Valuable Player, Super Bowl champion, Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, and in 2017 received the ultimate professional honor being inducted into pro football’s Hall Of Fame.
Recently, he was a guest on Trent Dilfer’s wonderful Beyond The X’s And O’s Podcast.  You can listen to the full interview HERE.  While their entire conversation is worth your time, my favorite portion was when Dilfer asked Warner his thoughts on the subject of leadership.  His comments were so insightful, I want to share them with you.
The following are Kurt Warner’s 3 Aspects To Great Leadership:

Leadership Must Be Genuine

Warner makes the argument that there are multiple ways to lead.  Your philosophy, style, and approach must match your individual make-up.

  • “There is no cookie-cutter way to lead”
  • “All leadership has to be genuine.  It has to be true to who you are.”
  • “Leadership has to be authentic.  That doesn’t mean it has to look one way.”
  • “You’ve got to develop your own leadership skills that work for you and fit your personality.”

Leadership Is All About Respect

Warner highlighted three areas where he has learned how to earn respect – knowledge, hard work, connectivity, and accomplishment.

  • “No one’s ever going to follow you until they respect you.  The key for any great leader is to learn how do I earn somebody’s respect.”
  • “There’s a million different ways.  For me, I wanted to be the leader with the most knowledge.  I wanted to be the smartest guy in every room.  If I knew I had learned something that could help someone else… that answer automatically derived from having more knowledge than someone else.”
  • “Show people what working hard looks like.”
  • “To be able to connect with guys where they’re at and not expect them to come to you.”
  • “Because of my career, because of my journey, I got a level of respect there.”
  • “You can put me in a leadership role but that doesn’t mean I’m going to lead people.”
  • “Being a true leader means people want to follow you.

You’ve Got To Make People Around You Believe

Leaders are dealers of hope.  Warner knows that if you cannot take people to a brighter tomorrow, why should they follow you?  They will simply follow someone else who can improve the quality of their lives.
  • “You’ve got to make people believe that what you’re telling them can happen.”
  • “Just follow me and I’ll show you.  It didn’t matter what I said.  I had to show them play-by-play, throw-by-throw, down-by-down, until we took the lead with 2 and a half minutes to go in the Super Bowl.”
  • “When you say, ‘Follow me’, they believe if they follow you, the results will come and they will get to wherever you’ll telling them they’ll go.”

Genuineness.  Respect.  Belief.  There are 3 Aspects To Great Leadership.  Are you reflective of your leadership?

The Top 60 Leadership Quotes From 2021 Part 1 is my latest ebook.  For many entering a post-pandemic environment, leadership looks completely different than the pre-pandemic world.  People are more broken now. They are more uncertain. Fear and anxiousness are unwelcome constant companions. Cultures are more unhealthy. Relationships are more dysfunctional.  Hope seems to be in short supply.  Every day seems to bring a new hacking, natural disaster, or unexpected calamity.

Therefore, the fundamentals of leadership are more important than ever. The quotes in this book deal with the basics of leadership.  If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, click HERE or on the image provided to download this FREE resource.  The lessons learned from last year, if applied, will sustain you for years to come.

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