The Lombardi leadership model is based on four tenets – knowing self, building character, earning competence, and building vision.
Winning made the sports world notice that success is based on exceptional leadership. This led to the use of Lombardi leadership techniques in sports programs in schools throughout the nation. Lombardi’s public appearances were increasing, and he was a hot commodity and celebrity on the rise. He began writing down his thoughts about leadership, creating speeches and axioms that would define his leadership style for all-time. Winning for Lombardi prompted others to ask Lombardi to define what leadership meant to him; that is, what good leaders do to inspire their teams and organizations. Vince Lombardi, Jr. (2001) recalls his father’s speeches:
“Like all great speakers, he left his audience asking for more. In fact, many organizations asked him to come back repeatedly. Nobody seemed to mind that the speech didn’t change from year to year. They wanted inspiration, and Vince Lombardi gave it to them. Inspiration is essential, like air and food. But I think there is even more to be gotten out of my father’s words and deeds.”
Lombardi was certainly hard-working, but coaching and winning were what made him. His writing and speech-giving on winning and leadership came later in his career because his winning record, just on face value, spoke volumes about his credibility. He wrote about leadership axioms and goals but did not leave much of a road map on how to achieve what he had truly experienced and achieved as a great coach and leader because he was taken him from us early like so many great leaders in history. Lombardi believed that “Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow”. He believed that leadership was special and God-sponsored so, leaders must excel. He very much wanted good leaders to be and rewarded for their achievements. Lombardi wrote:
“Our society, at the present time, seems to have sympathy only for the misfit, the maladjusted, the criminal, the loser. Assist them – absolutely. But I think it is high time that we stand up for the doer, the achiever, the winner, and the leader, the one who sets out to do something and does it. The one who recognizes the problems and opportunities at hand, and deals with them, and is successful, and is not worrying about the failings of others. The one who is constantly looking for more to do. The one who carries the work of the world on his shoulders. We will never create a good society, much less a great one, until individual excellence is respected and encouraged.”
Lombardi was on-the-mark with recognizing individual excellence because a great society is measured by the achievements of its citizens. A commitment to excellence was very much what Lombardi believed and preached to his players, saying, “Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence”.
Winning bestowed Lombardi with great respect as a leader because great deeds usually require great directions to accomplish worthwhile outcomes. What qualifies a leader to lead? Excellence was materialized with the creation of a Lombardi leadership model; naturally, it was outlined by his son, Vince Lombardi, Jr. The Lombardi leadership model is built on four, major tenets: 1) knowing self, 2) building character, 3) earning competence, and 4) building vision.
Everyone, it seemed, marveled at the winning success that Lombardi achieved at Green Bay and had people wondering what was exemplary about his leadership. Everyone loves a winner, at least most of the time. When asked about what are the qualities or characteristics of great leadership, Lombardi responded:
“What is needed, too, is people who will keep their head in an emergency, no matter what the field. Leaders, in other words, who meet intricate problems with wisdom and with courage. Leadership is not just one quality, but rather a blend of many qualities. And while no one individual possesses all of the talents that are needed for leadership, each man can develop a combination that can make him a leader. Contrary to the opinion of many, leaders are not born – they are made. And they are made by hard effort, which is the price we pay for success.”
Leaders are not selected to lead simply by their birthright. According to Lombardi, they need to be trained and molded into leaders, and it does not come easily. Hard work is always part of leader success as they (leaders) embellish their skills and resourcefulness, getting results as Lombardi did with his winning ways at Green Bay.
According to Lombardi, self-knowledge is the central building block for character. Identifying leader strengths as well as weaknesses and shortcomings is crucial to leading more effectively; Lombardi wrote: “If I had to do things all over again, I think I would pray for more patience maybe, and more understanding”. Self-knowledge of leader strengths and areas needing improvement allows leaders to plan and execute more successfully.
Seemingly, everything Lombardi professed about centered in some way on hard work, discipline, and character as the necessary ingredients of successful leadership. Lombardi wrote about mental toughness and a leader’s will:
“Mental toughness is many things. It is humility. It is simplicity. The leader remembers that simplicity is the sign of true greatness and meekness, the sign of true strength. Mental toughness is Spartanism, with all its qualities of self-denial, sacrifice, dedication, fearlessness, and love. Mental toughness is also the perfectly disciplined will. The strength of your group is in your will – in the will of the leader. The difference between a successful man and others is not in the lack of strength, nor in the lack of knowledge, but rather, in the lack of will. The real difference between men is energy. It is in the strong will, the settled purpose, the invincible determination. But remember that the will is character in action. If we would create something, we must be something. This is character. Character is more than intellect. Character is the direct result of mental attitude. A man cannot dream himself into character; he must hammer and forge one for himself.”
Lombardi calls for a character leader that builds character among its members. Character, Lombardi points out, cannot be wished for; it does not magically appear. It must be developed from within. It is a process that only the individual can make that happens for himself or herself, the hard way, through hard work and life’s lessons. That is the Lombardi model on leading by exuding character and building character among team members. Therefore, if Lombardi is right about the importance of the character quality, leadership without character is essentially no leadership. Character builds and promotes successful leadership in all organizations according to Lombardi. Self-knowledge, character development, and competence are three of the four tenets of the Lombardi leadership model. That leaves the big picture a vision for success, to discuss. Lombardi wrote:
“The difference between a good coach and an average coach is knowing what you want, and knowing what the end is supposed to look like. If a coach doesn’t know what the end is supposed to look like, he won’t know if when he sees it.”
Building a vision for organizational success is crucial in leadership. A comprehensive vision is much like a main river with its tributaries (i.e., self-knowledge, character development, and competence), merging to form one, powerful rush moving toward the mouth of the river. Verifiably, a comprehensive, clear vision unifies the whole organization under one robust purpose, one mission. Lombardi’s son wrote about the importance of enlisting support for his father’s vision:
“The key to my father’s success was his extraordinary ability to get people to go beyond themselves – to give more to the cause than they ever believed they were capable of giving. He did this through his personal example of enormous energy and unflagging commitment. He did this by embodying the high standards that he wanted to see in others. He did this by bestowing or withholding his approval. When you got that smile, that pat on the back, it made all the sacrifice and the hardship seem worthwhile. And the next day, you’d start all over again, working to win his approval and avoid his disapproval. I know this is what motivated his players.”
The Lombardi leadership model is a great one because it is based on such qualities as self-knowledge, competence, character, and vision. “As a manager, wouldn’t your job be infinitely easier if the people working with you embodied these qualities?” asks Vince Lombardi, Jr. The Lombardi leadership model remains a classic for leaders to emulate nearly 44 years after the death of its inventor. p
About the Author: Al Bruno is a special education and English teacher for the Buffalo Public School system. He has worked for Buffalo schools for 18 years and six years as vocational trainer and counselor. Bruno holds a Bachelor’s Degree in education and three Master of Science Degrees, all in education.