…is Rare
This isn’t about sports, although the guy who prompted this was certainly in the business of sports — but it really could have been any business or venture.
Sparky Anderson, longtime major league manager, passed away last week at the age of 76. He managed for 27 major league seasons – 9 with the Cincinnati Reds, 17 with the Detroit Tigers.
I admit to being a Sparky fan, although fairly objective about his teams’ performance and results throughout his Detroit tenure. With the Tigers he came in first twice, and second place four times, with one World Series championship. His Cincinnati stint resulted in five first-place finishes, three second-place, two National League pennants and two World Series championships. An incredible record.
There were also years where his teams were somewhere between bad and abysmal. During these, I would regularly field calls from irate buddies calling for Sparky’s ouster. These would be skillfully neutralized with statistics on all-time winningest MLB managers, winning percentages, reminders that even the greatest hitters fail over 60 times out of a hundred, overused clichés like “ya gotta lose battles to win the war,” etc. I had an answer for every one of their whiney outbursts, but, in truth, I secretly shared some of their frustrations (irrelevant as they were).
See, to me Sparky was way more than a baseball manager. He was one of only a handful of people who had “it.”
You know…it… IT!!!
Hmm. Maybe I’ve sauntered off into imagebusinesshappyland a little too far. Let me try to better articulate…
“It” is the ability to get people to follow your lead without ever having to formally say so, or ask. “It” implies that its carrier understands that they must lead by example – that issues of trust, integrity, honesty, morals, motives, loyalty and commitment to the success of the whole are without question.
“It” is being the quintessential leader – in good times, and all the others. “It” does not pretend to be free of mistakes, makes no apologies for the well-intended ones and never blames others for less-than-desired results. “It” accepts the responsibilities that come with the position, displays and promotes unshakeable confidence, and knows when to laugh at “itself” as well as at situations that others would define as defeat.
“It” innately knows how to get the most out of the talents on the team, how to handle individual ego bursts, and quietly understands that although he, or she, is as big a “star” as any, the fact never needs to be stated.
“It” is probably something you’re born with, although one can undoubtedly expand upon, and continually improve, the “itness.”
“It” can never successfully be faked.
In my opinion, Sparky had “it.” Using the pro sports/entertainment business as an example (because of its extremely high visibility), I can only think of a few that unquestionably have/had “it”: Phil Jackson, Scotty Bowman, Joe Torre, Don Shula, Bill Parcells…and maybe a half-dozen “kindas.”
In discussions with several people, virtually all agreed on just what “it” is, as well as the difficulty clearly defining it in words. The unsettling part came when they tried to identify those who truly had “it.” Some named other sports leaders, present and past (several from college ranks), many cited historic political leaders. Yet few could readily name more than a couple of current business, government or religious leaders that fit the “it” criteria.
We’ve concluded that there must be thousands of unsung heros around the globe who possess and implement “it” on a daily basis, yet never expect, or fully receive, the recognition they deserve. They’re also the ones who somehow, someway should be convinced to accept even greater leadership responsibilities. After all, they can’t all be baseball managers, and there’s probably at least a couple of other professions that could use their skills.
Thanks, Sparky…for more than you could ever have known.
