Page 89 - How to Drive the Bottom Line with People

Making Winners Fail

Not surprisingly, Lubbock Christian regretted los-
ing Coach Hays to Texas Tech, but not for the reason

you might think. Lubbock Christian was worried not
because of the potential impact on the school’s
remarkable baseball program, but because of the

potential impact on the school’s enviable history of
producing successful graduates in a program that
embodied the ideals of the university.
Since entering the business world, I often have
reflected on Coach Hays’s impact on my life. His char-

acter-driven example helps me understand that treat-
ing people harshly and unfairly is symptomatic of a
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leader’s anxiety over knowing that he or she cannot =

delegate responsibility to someone else. Without
investing the time necessary to establish relationships,
an organization’s leaders will never realize that diffi-
cult-to-reach level of trust and peace.
I am certain Larry Hays sometimes wishes he could

jump out on the field and fix a player’s problem. For-
tunately, once the relationships are established, the
friendships are formed, and the teaching is under way,

a leader learns the important lesson of letting go.
Many of America’s greatest leaders understand the
interdependent nature of these elements. The order in
which people are exposed to the servanthood and