Finishing Well: The Marathon Leader
S. Chip Toth
Recently, I lined up at the starting line to run a marathon. This is the 26.2 mile version of racing for those of us who delight in destroying our bodies. In fact, after I shared with my family that I was registered to run a marathon, my son asked, "Dad, do you know what happened to the first guy that ran a marathon?" He knew what I knew -that Phidippides died after he completed his run to Athens during the battle of Marathon!
But I love the start of a marathon. Everyone is happy, full of energy, and resolved to finish the race before them. And it is a party! Elvis and I were running neck and neck at the Boston Marathon. Captain America was doing sprints in the warm-up area at the Chicago Marathon, and one guy set the Guinness World Record for flipping pancakes in under three hours in the Ontario Shore Marathon (I hate being outrun by guys flipping pancakes!). However, these individuals could not top in weirdness the guy running in flip-flops who told me he was just visiting Earth and would soon return to his planet! Running is not only hard on the body.
Everyone starts well in a marathon, but let me take you to mile 20. At mile 20, all kinds of human wreckage can be seen. I can still see the bodies strewn along the side of the road in Chicago at mile 20. Some lie prostrate on the pavement, others lie bent over yielding up their internal treasures, and still others are limping, grasping their hamstrings or calves. In fact, the sight was so ugly I had to make a conscious decision not to look at the misery that surrounded me in order to continue myself. And it struck me at mile 20 that just two to three hours earlier these same runners were wildly excited about running and finishing the big race.
How many leaders can you think of right now who began well but lost their stride and became business street litter due to an injury to their ethics, judgment, health, relationships, or endurance? Why is it that so many leaders begin their careers well but so few finish well? It's the leaders who finish well that are remembered and emulated by the younger generations. The rest become examples for the next generation of what not to do.
THREE REASONS LEADERS DON'T FINISH WELL
Reason No. 1: They lose their moral edge
Recently, I was working with several young project managers, teaching the critical importance of character to leadership. At the core of character are traits such as integrity, honesty, consistency and authenticity. One young manager raised his voice and said that he did not believe honesty was always the best policy. He said there were situations where it was in the best interest of an owner or subcontractor to not tell the truth. "Really?" I responded. "How many of you would agree with that?" I was shocked and dismayed to find 80% of the group in agreement. I spent the next hour or so teaching the value and merits of truth telling, no matter what the cost.
It is through the small things that leaders prove to be faithful or unfaithful, trustworthy or unworthy in managing greater things, like people. "Small things," include accuracy in filling out the company expense report, reporting sick days or personal days, appropriate conversations and behavior with the opposite gender, submission and loyalty to those who lead us, keeping the confidences that others have entrusted to us, using the Internet for business purposes, expressing gratitude and appreciation for those who work with us and for us, and faithfully and competently fulfilling the assignments with which we are charged. If leaders are not faithful in the small matters of their career, then they cannot be faithful in the larger areas of their career.
If you track the histories of the many leaders in the news who lost their moral edge you will find somewhere in their past a small" compromise of one sort or another. "No one will get hurt." "It's an inconsequential matter." Everyone around here is doing it." "It's the only way to be competitive," or "I deserve this as hard as I work" are comments you will hear from these leaders. The small thing became the main thing that took them out of the race. They lost their edge.
Successful Leaders Will:
- Be disciplined and diligent to maintain utter truthfulness and integrity in all matters of business and life.
- Invite colleagues and friends to "watch" their life and to give them real-time feedback when they see moral drift.
- Recognize that disciplining themselves well in one area will have a cascading effect on all other areas.
- Count the cost when presented with the decision to compromise. Generally the price tag is hidden behind the attractive luster that promises happiness. When was the last time you calculated a risk analysis for cheating on your taxes? Counting the cost will keep you in the race.
Reason No. 2: They lose their passion
I loved the part of the Popeye cartoons when Popeye would watch Brutus take advantage of his beautiful Olive Oyl and say, "That's all I can stands, and I can't stands no more!" He would reach for his spinach and instantly bulk up to go after Brutus. The low-energy wimp became a passionate warrior! Mountains were moved, enemies were vanquished and the impossible became possible.
What is it that you "can't stands?" Great leaders are on a mission to change something they can't stand. Sony's founder could not stand the image attached to the words "made in Japan." Martin Luther King Jr. could not stand the inequities and inhumanity afforded to blacks. Abe Lincoln could not stand the idea that his fellow humans would be relegated to the status of slave. Mother Teresa could not stand the thought that humans were dying of disease and poverty in the streets of Calcutta. Sam Walton could not stand the fact that only the rich could buy certain products.
Often, I speak with leaders who have experienced great success in construction but have lost their passion. The thrill of constructing a stadium or high-rise -the challenge factor connected with building their business -has somehow been lost in a sea of management concerns, including financials and cash flow, managing risk, bonding dilemmas, employee quarrels, the hostile board member, etc. Most of us can barely remember what it was that drew us into construction leadership. It is in this absence of a clearly defined and active passion that the leader is most vulnerable to compromise that will take him or her out of the race. They face the challenge of being unchallenged.
Successful Leaders Will:
- Reflect over the questions: "What is it that I cannot stand anymore? What is my true passion? What gives me a righteous indignation? What must I do?"
- Get clear on their personal mission in life. Journal over the question: "At age 80, looking back on my life, what memories and accomplishments will bring me satisfaction without regret?"
- Diversify their life-rediscover a hobby or get involved with a cause.
- Start something new, take a risk and get the entrepreneurial blood flowing again. Delegate the managing to someone who is gifted and happy doing these things so they can focus on creating and building. It is in this absence of a clearly defined and active passion that the leader is most vulnerable to compromise that will take him or her out of the race. They face the challenge of being unchallenged.
Reason No. 3: They lose their humility
After a long day of work, I stood on a curb waiting for a ride back to the airport in Chicago. A well-dressed man took his place beside me to await the same car. I would bet he gave the dispatcher almost sixty seconds before he began to berate the poor fellow with his impatience. Red-faced and cutting he continued yelling at this poor fellow for the lack of prompt service. It must not have been two minutes later that he and I got into the same car for our ride to the airport.
Once inside, I asked the red-faced fellow what his occupation was. "I am a consultant with such and such a firm," he replied. The firm is famous and known for hiring talented and educated people. I asked, "Does your firm have a set of clearly defined values?" "Oh yes," he responded. "Do any of those values suggest that people matter and have value," I asked. (You can probably tell where this is going.) He shot back, "That is our core value -people matter!" "Really? All people?" I asked. "All people," he stated. "Even limo dispatchers?" I countered. His face reddened, and he cowered.
What happened to this consultant that in teaching others he failed to teach himself? Somewhere along the way, he began to believe that he was somehow more important than others were. He forgot that the first requirement of leadership is to make oneself the servant of all.
Successful Leaders Will:
- Spend time with their employees. Get out of their office, drive to a project site and talk with the project engineers and subcontractors. Take an interest in the employees as well as their work.
- Get involved in community service. Volunteer their time, talents and treasures to assist a not-for-profit. Rub shoulders with the poor, the diseased and the homeless.
- Be transparent with their weaknesses and failures with those close to them. They will be humble and honest.
- Not fudge on the rules even in small areas. It was the arrogance of Leona Helmsley who said, "Taxes are for the little people," that took her out of the race. The same rules that guide and protect the employee guide and protect the employer.
- Teach and coach others. There may be few more accountable than the one who makes himself or herself a coach or mentor to another.
- Manage humility. It is in the wake of success that we are most prone to believe that we are more than we are. Beware of the personal award banquets you throw in your own honor when you have done great things.
FINISHING WELL
As much fun as I had at the start of the marathon, it cannot match the level of satisfaction that comes with finishing. After 26.2 miles of disciplined running, the marathoner crosses the finish line to be greeted by a volunteer who places a medal around your neck and says, "Well done." Yes, there were distractions along the way - Elvis, the pancake flipper, and the beer-drinking hammock slugs who mocked our commitment -but we finished. There were opportunities to compromise, take a shortcut here or there, sprint the first five to 10 miles to appear faster, or just lie down and sleep at mile 20. But we finished, and we heard "Well done."
Leader, you will be remembered far more for the way you finish than the way you started. Keep your moral edge sharp, ignite your passion area, be humble and finish well. See you at the finish line!