LEADERS ARE PASSIONATEPrinciple:
“Enlightened enthusiasm coupled with energy always
results in the pursuit of excellence.”Every leader must always remember that, if he is not enthusiastic about
his vision, no one else will be! One of the most successful football
coaches of all time was the late Vince Lombardi. He often told his
players and fellow coaches: “If you are not fired BY enthusiasm – you will
be fired WITH enthusiasm!” He knew that there was no excuse for either
an unenthusiastic coach or unenthusiastic football player. He clearly
understood the psychological dynamic that “enthusiasm runs downhill!”
Enthusiasm must begin with the coaching staff if it is going to infect
the players. Therefore, Lombardi taught and demonstrated the principle:
“Enthusiasm produces enthusiasm!
Principle:
“Enthusiasm runs downhill. Th erefore, enthusiasm at
the top produces enthusiasm at the bottom.”Because of the importance of passion and enthusiasm, a leader must move
people’s hearts before he tries to move their heads! Harvard Business
School’s John Kotter says that in leadership “...both head and heart are
required.” He tells his students:
After seventeen or more years of formal education, most of us
know something about using our heads, but little about using our
hearts.^22Contrary to popular opinion, man is not the rational, cognitive creature
that he likes to think that he is. In reality, people are moved and governed
far more by their passions and emotions than they are by their minds and
reason. Fred Smith wisely points out:
Every fact is preceded by a feeling and if we rightly employ our
discernment, we can affect the facts by understanding the feelings
that precede the facts.^23