band!’ Fenten didn’t emphasize his own personal displeasure. He
emphasized the student’s contribution to the organization, and
the quality of the organization.”
A commitment to championship goals in any endeavor sets
all eyes on the significant challenge.
It is far more than just enthusiastic bombast. Field Marshall
Bernard Montgomery, who led his troops to many strategic vic-
tories in World War II, understood his own life had to demon-
strate depth of character. “Leadership is the capacity and will,”
Montgomery stated, “to rally men and women to a common pur-
pose and the character which inspires confidence.”Model Team Spirit
Andrew Carnegie once said, “No man will make a great leader
who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.”
When we read that, we think, “Of course. That’s obvious.”
Yet in practice, many leaders try to do all the major lifting them-
selves, and then bask in the limelight. It’s a constant temptation.
To keep our roles in perspective and to apply our gifts appro-
priately is a larger challenge than we might think. And it all starts
with attitude.
When we talked with David Schmidt about Billy’s experi-
ences, he said, “I wish I could help your readers understand what
it’s like to have the state and local police pull up in a motorcade
and escort you to the lower bowels of a stadium through a back
door. There’s so much that says, ‘You, you, you. You’re a rock star!
You’re it!’ Billy goes down the line shaking hands, meeting dig-
nitaries, and everything is saying, ‘You’re important.’ But Billy
kept saying, ‘No, it’s not for my glory. God won’t share his glory,
so I need to get down so he can get up.’ When you have a leader
at the top who says, ‘This is not about me,’ that’s big!”
Billy knew he could accomplish nothing without God, and
next to nothing without a team. Those who followed him over
the decades, from trustees and employees to counselors and local
pastors, knew he wasn’t grasping for his place in the sun. And
they knew without doubt that he loved them.
Empowering Soul Mates