Everyday Heroes
October 21, 2014
The last two Heisman Trophy winners have been mostly an embarrassment to college football after receiving what is supposed to be the sport’s highest individual award.
This has caused me to recall that Charles Schulz, the creator of “Peanuts” comic strip, was said to have often asked people to name the last few winners of the Heisman Trophy, the Pulitzer Prize, Miss America and Academy Awards. He reported that few people could name many of the recipients.
Then Mr. Schulz would ask the same people to name teachers and/or coaches who had inspired them. He reported that just about everyone had at least one to name quickly.
Schulz’s point was that for most of us, it is not award winners whom we remember. For most of us, the really important people are the “everyday heroes” who influenced our lives without fanfare or tribute.
Shared Leadership
February 3, 2012
My introduction to high school athletic associations began when I was eight years old, when my father became the chief executive of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. I learned about the work around the dinner table, by tagging along to Dad’s office, and by attending tournaments or accompanying him to banquets where he spoke.
My understanding of high school athletic associations broadened and deepened during the nearly eight years I served on the staff of the National Federation of State High School Associations.
So, even before I began my tenure as the MHSAA’s executive director, the essence of the work was in my bones.
In my father’s time and during my early years here in Michigan, the leadership model of a high school athletic association office was top down. The chief executive generated or personally reviewed every piece of correspondence, and staff referred every important decision to the boss.
That leadership model is no longer practical, or even possible. Too much is happening on so many different fronts for the chief executive-oriented model to do anything other than slow progress and frustrate people (both within and outside the office).
For today and the foreseeable future, the leadership model must be flat and diversified. The chief executive must allow staff to gain expertise in a growing array of complicated topics and empower staff to execute freely. It is impossible for a single person to gain the knowledge or have the time to lead a progressive, service-oriented high school athletic association; and I’m blessed to have had an experienced and passionate MHSAA staff to share the leadership opportunities and responsibilities.