{"id":35877,"date":"2023-10-21T09:28:45","date_gmt":"2023-10-21T13:28:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/?p=35877"},"modified":"2023-10-21T09:29:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-21T13:29:29","slug":"5-leadership-lessons-i-relearned-last-week-about-aggressive-learning-fatherhood-lonely-work-albino-killer-whales-the-high-price-of-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/2023\/10\/21\/5-leadership-lessons-i-relearned-last-week-about-aggressive-learning-fatherhood-lonely-work-albino-killer-whales-the-high-price-of-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Leadership Lessons I (Re)Learned Last Week About Aggressive Learning, Fatherhood, Lonely Work, Albino Killer Whales, & The High Price of Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following are 5 leadership lessons I (re)learned last week about aggressive learning, fatherhood, lonely work, albino killer whales, and the high price of leadership:<\/p>\n

Aggressive Learning<\/h2>\n

Successful leaders prioritize personal growth.\u00a0 They are constantly meeting new people, going new places, having new experiences, and learning new things.<\/p>\n

I want to be an aggressive learner, but there is a requirement for this to happen.\u00a0 On page 78 of Marty Smith’s new book Sideline C.E.O.: Leadership Principles from Championship Coaches,<\/em><\/a> former North Carolina Tar Heel head basketball coach Roy Williams said, “If you listen, you learn… Nobody ever learned anything by talking.”<\/p>\n

It’s been said that success comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.\u00a0 I am not be looking for success but I definitely want to be aggressively listening for it.<\/p>\n

Similarities Between Fatherhood And Being A Head Coach<\/h2>\n

It can be intellectually lazy to compare being a head coach to a father.\u00a0 After all, you can fire and replace a head coach.\u00a0 A head coach and a player is often a short-term transanctional relationship.\u00a0 Conversely, a father is a relationship connected by blood for a lifetime.<\/p>\n

However, click the image below and you will learn three similarities between being a head coach and father learned by Miami Dolphins head coach and new father Mike McDaniel:<\/p>\n

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Click Image To Watch<\/p><\/div>\n

The following are the three similarities mentioned by Coach McDaniel:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. “There similar in that it’s a servitude role.”<\/li>\n
  2. “You’re constantly concerned about the well-being of other people.”<\/li>\n
  3. “Wanting to be something for someone.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Lonely Work<\/h2>\n

    The Athletic’s<\/em> Ken Rosenthal wrote the following words<\/a> about Texas Rangers outfielder Evan Carter, “Before Game 2 of the Division Series in Baltimore, Evan Carter sat at a small table outside the Rangers\u2019 clubhouse, leaning over an iPad.\u00a0 The Rangers provide their players with scouting reports and video of opposing pitchers, but Carter also likes to watch video on his own.\u00a0 He studies how the opposing starter sequences his pitches, how he works left-handed hitters throughout the game.\u00a0 He takes notes, writing down his plan.\u00a0 \u201cIt just helps me when I do it myself,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI absorb it a little bit better.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The most successful leaders do the hard work of preparation by themselves, when no one is watching.\u00a0 It’s just Carter, his iPad, and a notepad.\u00a0 This is what success looks like.<\/p>\n

    Average Is Overrated<\/h2>\n

    The California Killer Whale Project routinely identifies specific orcas and gives them a designated name.\u00a0 A four-year old whale known as CA216C1 has been nicknamed “Frosty” because it has either leucism or Chediak-Higashi Syndrome.\u00a0 These conditions cause a rare lack of pigmentation in the mammals.\u00a0 See the picture below.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

    This albino killer whale reminds us of the value of being distinct.\u00a0 If you notice, we are not discussing the other five orcas in the pod, just Frosty.\u00a0 Average is overrated.\u00a0 What some see as a “condition” or “defect” is actually what makes you remarkable.<\/p>\n

    Celebrate your uniqueness and leverage it to impact your world.<\/p>\n

    The High Price Of Leadership<\/h2>\n

    Leadership 101 teaches us that leaders must be willing to pay a higher price than others are willing to pay.\u00a0 This truth was on full display in a graphic moment by New York Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu.\u00a0 During the final moments of this week’s Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, the Liberty superstar got physically sick.<\/p>\n

    As you will see in the video below, no problem.\u00a0 Give me a trash can, wipe off my chin, and keep on playing.<\/p>\n