beBetter 

It’s easy to get so busy, stressed, down or sometimes “self-important,” that we forget who we are and what’s really important to us.  I know that I experience those feelings sometimes and one of the tricks that I use to bring myself back to earth or pull myself out of a slump is to simply laugh at myself.  We all really do some funny things when you stop to think about it.  On one of my recent trips, I started thinking about the stupid things I had done at airports.  Unfortunately, there are several stories I could tell you, but today I will just share the most recent incident. 

When my youngest daughter turned 21, my wife and I took all three of our girls to Las Vegas to celebrate.  As you might expect, I had my hands full with the baggage that these four ladies were taking.  I needed a U-Haul truck! We were on time to the airport (a small miracle in itself) as we pulled next to curb in front of the Delta unloading area.  

My grandson, Davis, and I were playing in the pool recently when we started a game that involved standing up on a float. My job was to hold on to the float while he tried to stand up. At first he would lose his balance immediately, because he was worried I was going to let go of my hold on the float. "Pops, I can’t do it," Davis proclaimed. I assured him I would not let go and once I proved it to him through my consistent actions, his confidence went up and he began to master his balance. His worry subsided. 

It reminded me of how important it is for each of us to align with and hold on to our vision, to know our role and to trust each other to give it our best. To accomplish great things, we must take personal risks and rely on others to hold on. High trust creates a low risk environment that allows us to achieve things together that would not otherwise be possible. It provides the foundation for being responsive to the market, the speed to adapt, a sense of belonging, and the desire to do our best. 

As you can tell by the fact that this is my third blog related to the College World Series, the entire experience really had an impact on me. But it wasn’t all fun.

Imagine: You are riding on cloud nine as your favorite school is playing in the most elite event there is for college baseball. The atmosphere is exciting, the fans are loud and energetic, and everyone literally feels the tension of every pitch. It’s electric to say the least. Then, the elimination loss comes for 7 of those 8 elite teams, and at the moment that last out is made, sadness overwhelms the losing teams and their fans.

All my posts won’t be about sports. I promise. But my time at the College World Series gave me some really great insights into leadership and teams. Especially my observations of Tyler Campbell.

To put it bluntly, Campbell was an afterthought heading into the College World Series. But on June 21, 2014, he was Vanderbilt University's hero. He was the backup third baseman - thrust into a starting role due to a teammate’s suspension – and Campbell stepped up to propel the Commodores to the College World Series Final against Virginia.

Every day we have the opportunity to work toward reaching our full potential—it’s a journey that makes us better for having daily reached for it. This journey for our full potential is laden with opportunities, abundance, self confidence and a unique feeling of accomplishment.  It’s small things that separate typical and average from great and exceptional. Funny, if we decide in our minds that we are “good enough,” we have just begun going backwards .  

I truly believe it is my life’s calling to help others see and understand how to realize their full leadership potential. My personal journey to reach my full leadership potential has taken many twists, turns and dips along the way. So, this blog is partly personal and partly professional. I hope to offer my own insights and some examples of how we’re challenging our team members at HORNE to reach for their leadership potential. At HORNE, it’s a pursuit we call “Be Better.”