Fearless Fedora
Theme of the Week: A Different Way to Lead
James Hilt
Friday, September 19, 2003
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Key Bible Verses: "Great men order their people around … but among you … a leader should be like a servant" (Luke 22:25-26). Bonus Reading:Luke 22:24-30
Tom Landry, the late Dallas Cowboys coach, had a deep commitment to the Lord that shaped his leadership style. He didn't believe in motivating through fear and intimidation. In his autobiography, Tom Landry, he said, "I believe fear motivation is always risky … if you don't win, [it] quickly backfires. There's no payoff to make players feel it's 'worth it.'"
Instead, the coach concentrated on creating a vision for his team for the future. His servant's heart came through as he treated his players with respect, was patient with their progress, shunned manipulation, used a reasoning tone when interacting with players, was slow to anger as opposed to being quick-tempered, and showed that having God-honoring relationships is more important than winning, even in the NFL.
The key reason for his longevity as a coach in the NFL (he tied Curly Lambeau for the record of the most consecutive years coaching the same football team—29), Tom explained, was his faith. He didn't feel compelled to win at all costs. His life priorities as a Christian, he wrote, meant that "knowing your job isn't the most important thing in your life relieves a lot of the pressure."
—James Hilt in Illinois
My Response: A leader whose vision and respect I respond to is …
Thought to Apply: The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be.
—Tom Landry
Copyright © 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.
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Lord Jesus, I want the way I lead others to reflect Your example.
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