Leadership: On Being a Winner

The University of Alabama’s football team has won two of the last three national championships. That’s a fact. How did they do it? Well, here’s a surprising bit of insight from ESPN —

• The attendance for A-Day was 78,526 (1st in the SEC and 2nd nationally  this year to Ohio State) which was the fifth-largest in school history.  Each spring game under coach Nick Saban has had an attendance of  78,200 (2008) or higher. …
• During the last academic year, Alabama’s football program led the SEC  (in what is believed to be a conference record) with a total of 38  student-athletes on the Academic All-SEC Honor Roll. A  total of 22 players were on the bowl roster who had already earned their  degrees, which was tied for first nationally in terms of graduates on  bowl rosters.
• Of Alabama’s 13 starters lost, all were either drafted or signed free -agent contracts with the NFL. Included among those 13 were the four  first-rounders  … .

It’s easy enough to get the X’s and O’s right. Most major schools have excellent assistant coaches. But Alabama also sends all their graduating starters to the NFL while making certain their players graduate and set records for Academic All-SEC Honor Roll and college graduates.

How does this happen? Well, discipline. If the coaches insist that the players go to class, study, and achieve in school, two very good things happen.

First, good players are attracted to the school because the team takes academics seriously. Their parents especially will be encouraged to push their children to Alabama where they have a great chance to get a degree — even before they finish their football eligibility.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, discipline in one area carries over to other areas. Players who are disciplined both on the football field and the classroom will also be disciplined in life. They’ll be less likely to get in fights and get arrested. Because discipline is a way of life, rather than a way of football, they’ll be even more disciplined on the field — because they become different kinds of people.

Of course, the discipline attracts those who are willing to pay the price — to be disciplined both in athletics and academics. The kids who don’t want to maximize their talents, who just want to have fun for four years of college, will choose somewhere else.

Saban likes to say that there two kinds of pain in life: the pain of disappointment and the pain of discipline. Take your pick. You can’t escape having pain, but you can choose the outcome.

As a result, Alabama players leave the program NFL ready. The discipline that gets good grades also teaches them how to learn the playbook. They show up in the NFL with the habits and mentality to be successful — and therefore they get drafted higher than other players with similar physical gifts — which, in turn, attracts highly motivated, talented players.

Also key to this is something call “the process,” which is Saban’s relentless emphasis on doing the things that lead to championships. He has no interest at all in talking about championships — only those things that get you there: practicing hard, weight training, nutrition, etc. That is, he shifts the focus from the end goal to the steps needed to get there — the process.

Therefore, there’s far more talk about mastering the playbook than making big bucks in the NFL — which, of course, leads to making big bucks in the NFL.

Oh, and then there’s the fan support. I attended the first spring practice game that Saban coached. The 92,000-seat stadium was full! The Fire Marshall closed the gates, only letting more in as others left. I’m sure over 100,000 ultimately got into the game.

Why did this matter? Because the players were astounded at the fan support! And the support encouraged them to work harder and helped the coaches recruit the next class of players. Who wouldn’t want to play where they are most appreciated?

So does this have anything to do with church? Well, only if you think that a little discipline, focus on the right things, and encouragement might make a difference.

Do you want your members to run through walls for Jesus? Do you want them to volunteer without begging or wheedling? Show them how much you appreciate them. Make them feel like they’re in Bryant-Denny Stadium being cheered on by a sold out stadium. Make service an encouragement.

But insist on getting it right — not perfect, but right. What is “right”? Well, if your goal is church growth, don’t talk about church growth but the things that result in church growth — personal evangelism, open small groups, etc. Decide what those things are and then be absolutely relentless in pursuing them. And don’t let them become something other than what produces church growth. Don’t take the easy road.

Of course, this means being extremely careful to define just what it is you want, because you’re going to bend and shape everything else to that end. You may actually get your wish — so be sure it’s the right one.

It’s an easy call in college football — winning championships with excellent academics and class is pretty much the goal everyone has, even if they aim for something they consider more attainable.

In church, it’s just as easy — easier — to aim for the attainable rather than the real goal. So what is the real goal — the one the Bible points us to — and what are the steps toward getting there?