Permission…. This is an article about the profound impact that leaders have on the behaviour of those they lead.
I’ve held off writing about this concept until Trump looked directly at the eclipse a couple of weeks ago… gave me no choice but to put pen to paper.
Please strike me down if this article ends up being another “Trump” article but I did start to think seriously about leadership modelling immediately after he was elected. In my mind, his behavior, as the leader of the free world, is giving permission to millions of people to act in ways that contrast common standards.
Say one thing but mean another. Discriminate. Use a position of authority to belittle others. In his world this is standard operating procedure and there is no doubt this will have an impact on our society over the coming years.
The frightening element in all of this sits with our human instinct to search for efficiency. The shortest line between point A and B. The easiest way to make money. The 12-minute work out to lose that gut. Finding a simple way to deal with conflict (usually, there is no simple solution, as we all know). For many, Trump’s daily behaviour as presented on social media and our evening news presents a behavior guide. For others it is a reminder of what not to do, but it is the former group that I am most worried about.
Shifting continents and simply getting away from Trump, one of the things that struck me during my time living in England was how few prominent female sport role models existed for young women. There seemed to be countless male sport role models for English boys to look up to but for young females the role models were actresses or reality television stars. I have no evidence, but I believe that England would do well by their young women to mount a campaign to promote more sportswomen so that young girls could model some of their behavior. This is not meant as a slander towards England (we loved our time in London) but I am more comfortable raising a daughter in Canada than England given my belief in the impact of readily accessible role models.
Role modelling is rampant in sport and there is no doubt that Jack Nicklaus, Kobe Bryant, Sidney Crosby and countless other athletes established baseline behaviours during their careers for young athletes to model – both good and bad. Seeing Jack Nicklaus handle losing by a shot in a major with class sticks with people. It becomes the standard in the sport. When Kobe Bryant played with a selfish streak did that give permission to young people to do the same? Absolutely. Does Sidney Crosby’s class have a trickle down impact on young players? For sure!
Sometimes the modelling of behavior can be very basic, even trivial. Why did NFL coaches wear suits in the 70’s and hoodies today? Tom Landry and Bill Belichick (If you are under 30, please google Tom Landry) set those standards. But isn’t this proof that we all model? As can be seen by the hoodie movement in the NFL, even the peers of the leader who set the standard are modelling behaviour. Why did I where a red sweater when I coached early in my career? Yes, some teams I coached wore red, but I can tell you that I dressed that way because that is how Bobby Knight dressed when he coached. He was, at the time, my coaching hero. No, I didn’t throw a chair… but I thought about it.
And what is the message to take from the this picture of Knight “stumping” for Trump during the last election? In a red sweater? I digress…. Let’s get back to business.
Who was the first basketball coach to decide it was ok to coach on the court of play? Why is this permitted? More importantly, why would any coach do this unless they were modelling something they saw on TV? Why are so many coaches, young and old, coaching on the court. Does 2-3 feet really make a difference? Full disclosure – I can’t stand this… coaches, please stop….
Of course, this isn’t about the impact of red sweaters or standing a couple of feet onto the court, but it is about the power leaders have. Our boy Donald, like it or not, is giving permission to millions of people to do things that are a violation of standards that have been set over decades. It will be hard to track the prevalence of Trump behaviours in the general public over the coming years, but I have no doubt that thousands upon thousands of people will set new standards based on his four years in office. He will never meet the vast majority of the people he impacts but I predict his influence will be profound.
All of us who lead must understand that people are monitoring our behavior. Whether it is conscious or subconscious, young people, in particular, will determine that the behavior of leaders is both appropriate and worth embracing – whether it is right or wrong, appropriate or inappropriate, respectful or otherwise.
The higher up the food chain within an organization the more influential this behavior is. No one is more senior than Donald J. Trump. How frightening is that?
Thousands of young people will lie based on the Trump reality that you can reshape the message you delivered hours, days and weeks earlier. In his world, there is no integrity, and we should all be both frightened and actively monitoring our young people to ensure they recognize poor behavior when they see it. Many will and many will not.
The leaders and coaches in our lives do not have the Trump platform, but their impact is more intimate and influential. We swear… we give permission. We disrespect an official…. we give permission. We take a short cut to success… we give permission.
Let’s all stop, right now, and embrace our responsibility to model the right behavior.
For many of us, it may be our legacy.
