A Comparison of Two Leaders
10 February 2011 A Comparison of Two Great Leaders History is full of great leaders both past and contemporary; the two I wanted to write about are Tony Dungy, former coach of the Indianapolis Colts and Benjamin Franklin, perhaps our most influential founding father. Both men have had a great impact in their chosen fields, but it is their leadership impact that has insured them greatness. Their great personalities, strong character, and solid moral standards keep them in the high regard of those who knew them or studied them.
Those who know Tony Dungy always have something good to say about him. Tony has been described as having “class, dignity, grace, and poise” by ESPN.com’s Michael Smith (Moring 34). Ira Miller of the San Francisco Chronicle calls him “a real role model, a rare tower of dignity” (Moring 34). And USA Today describes Dungy as “personable, soft-spoken, and highly respectable” (Dungy 's New Challenge 10a). It is these great personality traits that Tony Dungy has used to have an impact on people both on and off the field. His personal strengths have enabled him to make the playoffs 10 consecutive seasons in a row and helped him to be the first African American head coach to lead a team to a win in the Super Bowl. His upbeat personality and gentle style has made him one of the great leaders of the NFL. Although Ben Franklin lived a very long time ago, people still speak highly of the man and his accomplishments. English historian Lewis Simpson stated about Franklin that he was “always terse, luminous, simple, pregnant with meaning, [and] eminently persuasive” (Strout 613). Eugen Weber describes Franklin as “urbane, tactful, [and] dedicated” (Weber 19). Franklin’s good humor and outgoing personality helped him to be elected and selected for many different public offices during his life. Franklin was a man of few failings, but the ones he had caused him some serious trouble. While serving as the envoy to England, he would not
Those who know Tony Dungy always have something good to say about him. Tony has been described as having “class, dignity, grace, and poise” by ESPN.com’s Michael Smith (Moring 34). Ira Miller of the San Francisco Chronicle calls him “a real role model, a rare tower of dignity” (Moring 34). And USA Today describes Dungy as “personable, soft-spoken, and highly respectable” (Dungy 's New Challenge 10a). It is these great personality traits that Tony Dungy has used to have an impact on people both on and off the field. His personal strengths have enabled him to make the playoffs 10 consecutive seasons in a row and helped him to be the first African American head coach to lead a team to a win in the Super Bowl. His upbeat personality and gentle style has made him one of the great leaders of the NFL. Although Ben Franklin lived a very long time ago, people still speak highly of the man and his accomplishments. English historian Lewis Simpson stated about Franklin that he was “always terse, luminous, simple, pregnant with meaning, [and] eminently persuasive” (Strout 613). Eugen Weber describes Franklin as “urbane, tactful, [and] dedicated” (Weber 19). Franklin’s good humor and outgoing personality helped him to be elected and selected for many different public offices during his life. Franklin was a man of few failings, but the ones he had caused him some serious trouble. While serving as the envoy to England, he would not
Cited: Dungy, Tony and Whitaker, Nathan. The Mentor Leader : secerts to building people and teams that win consistently. Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2010. "Dungy 's New Challenge." USA Today 20 February 2009: 10a. Lane, Neal. "Benjamin Franklin, Civic Scientist." Physics Today (2003): 41-46. Moring, Mark. "A Kinder, Gentler Coach." Christianity Today September 2007: 34-35. Strout, Cushing. "A Man for All Seasons." Sewanee Review (2003): 610-615. Weber, Eugen. "Our Greatest Diplomat." New Leader (2004): 18-19.