People who know me know John Maxwell is my spiritual hero. One of the great joys of my life was getting to work for him for several years. I can name all 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership backwards in alphabetical order. Well, not really but close. But I have met my match.
One of my favorite Christian leaders is Pittsburgh Pirates manager Clint Hurdle. In the March 30th edition of Sports Illustrated, writer Albert Chen profiled Hurdle focusing on the areas of leadership and change management. Hurdle’s passion for leadership is demonstrated by the fact he has read EVERY book (50+) written by John Maxwell.
The following are 19 Leadership Quotes And Lessons From The Man Who Has Read EVERY John Maxwell Book:
- Great Leaders Have High Intelligence – Hurdle can discuss a multitude of topics from Shakespeare to the intricacies of baseball strategy.
- Great Leaders Are Readers – Hurdle carries a minimum of four books with him on each road trip. These books rarely have anything to do with baseball.
- Great Leaders Are Experts At Their Craft – Hurdle has studied all scouting reports and analytical studies presented to him.
- Great Leaders Question Assumptions – Hurdle is currently studying successful NBA and NHL teams regarding the impact of limiting player minutes.
- Great Leaders Stay Ahead Of The Curve – Hurdle says, “As an organization we always have to be seeking out new and creative ways to stay ahead of the curve.”
- Great Leaders Have Previously Failed – A highly rated prospect coming into the league as a player, Hurdle’s ego and attitude helped push him out of the game in just five years.
- Great Leaders Do Not Waste Time Or Opportunity – There is a sign in the Pirates office attributed to Bill Murray, “We do not have time to waste another day.”
- Great Leaders Surrender To Innovation – The Pirates have embraced analytics, creative defensive shifts and platoon systems.
- Great Leaders Invest In The Next Generation Of Leaders – The Pirates have one of baseball’s best minor league systems and a strong presence in Latin America.
- Great Leaders Value Unity – One of the most important ingredients of the team’s success is the unity which exists between the executive office and coaching staff.
- Great Leaders Make Hard Decisions – Upon his hiring, 38-year-old general manager Neal Huntington made extensive overhauls in all areas of personnel.
- Great Leaders Evaluate Reality – Hurdle had to, “recognize that there was a way the game was going, and it was going to go with me or without me.”
- Great Leaders Do More With Less – The team’s payroll was 21st out of 30 MLB teams.
- Great Leaders Are Committed To Personal Growth – Huntington said, “Clint’s willingness to learn is one of his great strengths.” As previously noted, Hurdle has read EVERY John Maxwell leadership book.
- Great Leaders Make Everyone Else Better – Huntington continues, “He’s (Hurdle) always hungering to find ways to make everyone better.”
- Great Leaders See Leadership Everywhere – Hurdle humorously but accurately observes, “Dorothy from The Wizard Of Oz was one of the great all-time leaders…She took three people that were missing something and had them look back inside themselves to find something they thought they never had. She wanted to go home, that was mission No. 1, but in the end it was all about everyone else.”
- Great Leaders Care About Their People’s Lives Outside Of Work – Huntington observes, “Things that take place before seven o-clock (start of the game) and after 10 o-clock (end of the game) are more important than actually what happens during a game.”
- Great Leaders Are Great Motivators – Huntington concludes, “There are a lot of people who could manage baseball games and make tactical decisions, but the ability to understand how to reach different players, motivate a staff and work with a front office and ownership and the media (like Hurdle), not many can do that.”
- Great Leaders Are Always Looking Ahead – One of Hurdle’s favorite quotes comes from legendary UCLA head coach John Wooden, “When your past becomes more significant than your future, you’re done.”
Whether you lead a church, business, non-profit or athletic team, the Pirates and their manager Clint Hurdle are a team you can learn from. Pay attention to this team! I’m hoping they win the World Series.
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