Compare And Contrast Effective Athletic And Business Leaders
Effective Athletic and Business Leaders
Jeffery Blake Laney
Concordia University Irvine
Effective Athletic and Business Leaders
Effective leaders can be found in a wide variety of professions. Being an effective leader is not limited to certain jobs. All successful businesses and athletic programs have leaders that are effective in their own unique ways. Two effective leaders close to me are Kelly Lawrence and Jeremy Pruitt. While both of the leaders are highly effective, they both have their own unique traits that make them different from the other. I had the opportunity to interview both Kelly and Jeremy and understand their leadership history, their philosophy of leadership, their leadership traits, their implemented leadership strategies, and their leadership vision along with mine.
Leadership History
Kelly Lawrence is a highly effective business leader and someone that has been close to me for many years. She happens to be my mother. Kelly has worked in the restaurant industry for the last 15 years. Over the course of these 15 years, she has come from the very bottom, a server, to the very top, owner. It takes a true leader to make this big of a jump in the restaurant industry.
Jeremy Pruitt is an effective leader in coaching and is rapidly …show more content…
climbing the coaching ladder in college football. Jeremy has advanced from coaching me at a small high school in Alabama to becoming the defensive coordinator at the University of Georgia all in a matter of 15 years. During that span he also had stops at the University of Alabama, as well as Florida State University. Much like Kelly, he started at the bottom and worked his way up by being an effective leader.
Philosophy of Leadership
Upon speaking with Kelly about leadership, she defined leadership as being able to lead a group of people to the same common goal or outcome. She describes the restaurant industry as a place that must have all of its employees on the same page to be successful. Kelly describes her general philosophy of leadership as something pretty simple in her mind. To her a leader takes the time to get to know the employees and work hand in hand with them. From her experiences she has learned that when employees see their leader working then it is easier for them to follow right along. It is not uncommon to see Kelly cleaning tables or even the bathrooms when needed. She tells all of her employees that she will never ask them to do something that she would not do herself.
Jeremy defines leadership as the act of leading others to create a positive result that would not have happened otherwise. He says that he remembers one of his youth coaches defining leadership that way and it has always stuck with him on his journey as a coach. Much like Kelly, Jeremy does not think his leadership philosophy reinvents the wheel. He says being a leader is all about being consistent and clear and not wavering from your standards. Jeremy has seen an appreciation from his athletes because they know exactly what they are getting from him each and every day.
Leadership Traits
As any effective business leader, Kelly has several personal characteristics that help her to lead others. The one she sees as the most important is being respectful to her employees. While on her upward journey in the industry, she recalls several instances where the boss was not respectful and would talk down to the employees. She said the she remembered that and knew when she got the chance she would show respect to all the workers no matter the job title. She also says that being open to change is a characteristic that helps her lead. While she has the store running the way she wants, occasionally she has employees that come in with ideas. She sets down with them and shares her thoughts and listens to theirs. If it is something she thinks might be able to work then she tries it on a trial basis. After the trial she will sit back down with the staff member and see if it is something to keep or not. This shows the workers that she is willing to listen. She has found that workers are more dedicated when they know their input is appreciated.
An effective leader in athletics must have certain characteristics to be successful in Jeremy’s opinion. Jeremy considers himself to be highly organized. During player meetings and practices, the team knows that Jeremy is always going to be prepared. In return the players know that they must be also. Whether this is be watching film or going over the playbook, the players know that being organized is a nonnegotiable. Jeremy also thinks being punctual is another characteristic that helps him be an effective leader. He prides himself on being the first staff member in the football complex each day. He says that he never wants one of his defensive players to be in the building and him not be there. He says that he feels like his players notice this and usually start coming in earlier to get in extra work. Jeremy wants to lead by example and feels like being punctual rubs off on his players.
Leadership Strategies
One specific strategy that Kelly uses to promote positive change in the restaurant is her Monday morning meetings. She calls this meeting the “Breakfast Club.” She has been doing this for the past three years and has experiences positive results from this. During the meeting she discusses the results from the past week, much like any other restaurant or business would do. However, what sets this meeting apart from others is the opportunity for each individual employee to talk about the positives they experienced over the last week. Kelly sees this as a great opportunity for the workers to get positive feedback from their peers. Kelly then names an employee of the week. She feels this keeps the workers upbeat and positive throughout the week. Rhonda Revelle believes in the importance of knowing and caring about her athletes, not just as athletes but as human beings (Martens, 2004). Kelly shows this exact quality expect she deals with restaurant employees and not athletes.
A specific strategy that Jeremy uses to promote positive change is his open door policy. Each player knows that when they have an issue, either personally or athletically, that he is there to listen. Jeremy says that most of the time his players just want someone to listen. Normally it is Jeremy doing the talking in meetings and practices. These informal meetings give the players a chance to talk and Jeremy a chance to listen. Phil Jackson believes that coaches must have compassion in order to help their athletes perform superbly (Martens, 2004). Much like Phil Jackson, Jeremy feels that his players respect him more because of these meetings and in return creates a positive environment.
Leadership Vision
While conducting interviews and personally knowing both Jeremy and Kelly, it was evident that both of them had similar views on leadership. Too sum it up best; both of them believe that being a people person is the best way to be an effective leader. Both are not only good communicators, but more importantly listeners in their opinions. Also both Jeremy and Kelly believe that being consistent and organized are important in being effective leaders.
Over the course of interviewing Jeremy and Kelly, a few differences were noticed in their leadership styles. Business and athletics are different in many ways and takes different types of leaders. The biggest difference in these two is that, at times, Jeremy has to be more vocal and offer some tough love. He deals with young, student athletes that are used to getting whatever they want because of their athletic abilities. Sometimes he has to break them down to build them back up. With Kelly that type of leadership was never discussed. She works people that usually are just happy to be employed. Here employees do not typically have the sense of entitlement that some of Jeremy’s athletes possess.
Jeremy and Kelly both feel that keeping their integrity and motivation is pretty easy.
Both of them know what it is like to start at the bottom and work their way to the top. They know that nothing in life comes easy and hard work pays off. Kelly regularly attends conferences and seminars to find out the latest trends in the restaurant business. This helps keep her motivated and hungry to make her restaurant the best it can possibly be. Jeremy feels his motivation comes from changing the lives of young men on a daily basis. Both Jeremy and Kelly spend time daily in the gym and both eat a healthy diet. Jeremy works out with his assistant coaches every morning before the team gets into the
facility.
Since I have known Jeremy and Kelly for so long, their views on leadership have actually molded my views. We are all firm believers that while communicating is very important, listening is equally important. Much like Jeremy and Kelly, organization and punctuality is something I hold to a high standard. One thing at sums up all three of us is being consistent and fair will carry you to wherever you want to go in life. I have been so fortunate to learn from such impactful leaders. Leaders that lead in the right way, but yet still demand the most from their employees and athletes.
References
Martens, R. (2004). Successful coaching. (3. ed.) Champaign: Human Kinetics.
Jeffery Blake Laney
Concordia University Irvine
Effective Athletic and Business Leaders
Effective leaders can be found in a wide variety of professions. Being an effective leader is not limited to certain jobs. All successful businesses and athletic programs have leaders that are effective in their own unique ways. Two effective leaders close to me are Kelly Lawrence and Jeremy Pruitt. While both of the leaders are highly effective, they both have their own unique traits that make them different from the other. I had the opportunity to interview both Kelly and Jeremy and understand their leadership history, their philosophy of leadership, their leadership traits, their implemented leadership strategies, and their leadership vision along with mine.
Leadership History
Kelly Lawrence is a highly effective business leader and someone that has been close to me for many years. She happens to be my mother. Kelly has worked in the restaurant industry for the last 15 years. Over the course of these 15 years, she has come from the very bottom, a server, to the very top, owner. It takes a true leader to make this big of a jump in the restaurant industry.
Jeremy Pruitt is an effective leader in coaching and is rapidly …show more content…
climbing the coaching ladder in college football. Jeremy has advanced from coaching me at a small high school in Alabama to becoming the defensive coordinator at the University of Georgia all in a matter of 15 years. During that span he also had stops at the University of Alabama, as well as Florida State University. Much like Kelly, he started at the bottom and worked his way up by being an effective leader.
Philosophy of Leadership
Upon speaking with Kelly about leadership, she defined leadership as being able to lead a group of people to the same common goal or outcome. She describes the restaurant industry as a place that must have all of its employees on the same page to be successful. Kelly describes her general philosophy of leadership as something pretty simple in her mind. To her a leader takes the time to get to know the employees and work hand in hand with them. From her experiences she has learned that when employees see their leader working then it is easier for them to follow right along. It is not uncommon to see Kelly cleaning tables or even the bathrooms when needed. She tells all of her employees that she will never ask them to do something that she would not do herself.
Jeremy defines leadership as the act of leading others to create a positive result that would not have happened otherwise. He says that he remembers one of his youth coaches defining leadership that way and it has always stuck with him on his journey as a coach. Much like Kelly, Jeremy does not think his leadership philosophy reinvents the wheel. He says being a leader is all about being consistent and clear and not wavering from your standards. Jeremy has seen an appreciation from his athletes because they know exactly what they are getting from him each and every day.
Leadership Traits
As any effective business leader, Kelly has several personal characteristics that help her to lead others. The one she sees as the most important is being respectful to her employees. While on her upward journey in the industry, she recalls several instances where the boss was not respectful and would talk down to the employees. She said the she remembered that and knew when she got the chance she would show respect to all the workers no matter the job title. She also says that being open to change is a characteristic that helps her lead. While she has the store running the way she wants, occasionally she has employees that come in with ideas. She sets down with them and shares her thoughts and listens to theirs. If it is something she thinks might be able to work then she tries it on a trial basis. After the trial she will sit back down with the staff member and see if it is something to keep or not. This shows the workers that she is willing to listen. She has found that workers are more dedicated when they know their input is appreciated.
An effective leader in athletics must have certain characteristics to be successful in Jeremy’s opinion. Jeremy considers himself to be highly organized. During player meetings and practices, the team knows that Jeremy is always going to be prepared. In return the players know that they must be also. Whether this is be watching film or going over the playbook, the players know that being organized is a nonnegotiable. Jeremy also thinks being punctual is another characteristic that helps him be an effective leader. He prides himself on being the first staff member in the football complex each day. He says that he never wants one of his defensive players to be in the building and him not be there. He says that he feels like his players notice this and usually start coming in earlier to get in extra work. Jeremy wants to lead by example and feels like being punctual rubs off on his players.
Leadership Strategies
One specific strategy that Kelly uses to promote positive change in the restaurant is her Monday morning meetings. She calls this meeting the “Breakfast Club.” She has been doing this for the past three years and has experiences positive results from this. During the meeting she discusses the results from the past week, much like any other restaurant or business would do. However, what sets this meeting apart from others is the opportunity for each individual employee to talk about the positives they experienced over the last week. Kelly sees this as a great opportunity for the workers to get positive feedback from their peers. Kelly then names an employee of the week. She feels this keeps the workers upbeat and positive throughout the week. Rhonda Revelle believes in the importance of knowing and caring about her athletes, not just as athletes but as human beings (Martens, 2004). Kelly shows this exact quality expect she deals with restaurant employees and not athletes.
A specific strategy that Jeremy uses to promote positive change is his open door policy. Each player knows that when they have an issue, either personally or athletically, that he is there to listen. Jeremy says that most of the time his players just want someone to listen. Normally it is Jeremy doing the talking in meetings and practices. These informal meetings give the players a chance to talk and Jeremy a chance to listen. Phil Jackson believes that coaches must have compassion in order to help their athletes perform superbly (Martens, 2004). Much like Phil Jackson, Jeremy feels that his players respect him more because of these meetings and in return creates a positive environment.
Leadership Vision
While conducting interviews and personally knowing both Jeremy and Kelly, it was evident that both of them had similar views on leadership. Too sum it up best; both of them believe that being a people person is the best way to be an effective leader. Both are not only good communicators, but more importantly listeners in their opinions. Also both Jeremy and Kelly believe that being consistent and organized are important in being effective leaders.
Over the course of interviewing Jeremy and Kelly, a few differences were noticed in their leadership styles. Business and athletics are different in many ways and takes different types of leaders. The biggest difference in these two is that, at times, Jeremy has to be more vocal and offer some tough love. He deals with young, student athletes that are used to getting whatever they want because of their athletic abilities. Sometimes he has to break them down to build them back up. With Kelly that type of leadership was never discussed. She works people that usually are just happy to be employed. Here employees do not typically have the sense of entitlement that some of Jeremy’s athletes possess.
Jeremy and Kelly both feel that keeping their integrity and motivation is pretty easy.
Both of them know what it is like to start at the bottom and work their way to the top. They know that nothing in life comes easy and hard work pays off. Kelly regularly attends conferences and seminars to find out the latest trends in the restaurant business. This helps keep her motivated and hungry to make her restaurant the best it can possibly be. Jeremy feels his motivation comes from changing the lives of young men on a daily basis. Both Jeremy and Kelly spend time daily in the gym and both eat a healthy diet. Jeremy works out with his assistant coaches every morning before the team gets into the
facility.
Since I have known Jeremy and Kelly for so long, their views on leadership have actually molded my views. We are all firm believers that while communicating is very important, listening is equally important. Much like Jeremy and Kelly, organization and punctuality is something I hold to a high standard. One thing at sums up all three of us is being consistent and fair will carry you to wherever you want to go in life. I have been so fortunate to learn from such impactful leaders. Leaders that lead in the right way, but yet still demand the most from their employees and athletes.
References
Martens, R. (2004). Successful coaching. (3. ed.) Champaign: Human Kinetics.