Are You Leaving A Legacy Of Leadership?

December 3, 2012

Mike Grant is the coach of the Eden Prairie football team. One of the things he is known for is how he will never cut a player from the football team. All players suit up for each game and as you can imagine coming from a school with around 1000 people per class, you have a LOT of football players on the sidelines.

For years I have listened to people chat in the stands wondering why he does that? Why doesn’t he just cut players? Where did that idea come from?

Then I learned that Mike Grant is an alumni and All American of St. Johns University in Minnesota where he played under Coach John Gagliardi. So what did he pick up from John?

Coach John Gagliardi is retiring after 60 years so he has been in the news a lot. In college football he has had the most wins in the history at 489. He is also recognized for his unusual philosophy of coaching that is based on “no’s”-no roster cuts, no tackling during practice, no whistling and no using the words “kill” or “hit”.

I bring this up because a great leader leaves great footprints that others tend to follow and replicate. When you find people replicating your system or process that is when you know you have left a legacy.

I now see the legacy and mark that John left on Mike. Mike’s coaching philosophies really align with John’s and ironically Eden Prairie has one of the best football records in the state.

Will your leadership stand up to the test? Are others duplicating SUCCESSFULLY what you are doing? Is it simple for others to follow?

Take Action: Take a hard look at what you do that is leaving a mark on others. Make sure it is leaving a POSITIVE mark and anything that isn’t make a point to actively change in that area. As a leader you have a tremendous ability to influence not only the work but the LIVES of all who work for you. Make the most of it.

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