Friday, May 11, 2012

Lessons in Leadership from Bill Shankly

The following is the final assignment I completed for Dr. Raina Rutti's spring Leadership class at Dalton State College. A big thank you goes out to my Liverpool Football Club family,
who endured my informal polling via tweets and posts and gave me their thoughts,
opinions, and insight.  I hope I captured your passion in this writing.
Dedicated to the man himself, here are "Lessons in Leadership from Bill Shankly."




Lesson One – Have a Lofty and Challenging Goal
“My idea was to build Liverpool into a bastion of invincibility. Had Napoleon had that idea he would have conquered the bloody world. I wanted Liverpool to be untouchable. My idea was to build Liverpool up and up until eventually everyone would have to submit and give in.” – Bill Shankly

As manager of Liverpool Football Club, Bill Shankly had the highest of goals. He took Liverpool to glory by winning, yes, but also by inculcating the club with his character, honesty and sincerity. Transformational leadership is defined as the way the leader affects his followers.  By mandating the goal and its value, focusing on the team, and tapping his players’ need for accomplishment, Bill Shankly was this type of leader.
Every player Shankly signed knew the team objective was to be the best. Every player knew that he was part of the organization and each was needed to achieve the goal. And every one of them bought into Shankly’s vision. They trusted him completely. It was said that if Shankly had told the players the pitch was pink (not green) they would have believed him. Even long into retirement, his players continued to stand in respect and awe of the “boss.”

Shankly's leadership style also exhibited the components and moral aspects of real transformational leadership. First is the charisma, or idealized influence, Shankly held over the players, supporters and the press. His power of oratory is said to have made politicians envious. Shankly believed that natural enthusiasm is the greatest thing in the world, saying, “You are nothing without it.”  Second, he was a true inspirational motivator, having an unshakeable belief in his team, and filling them with his desire to be the best.  “Fire in your belly,” Shankly said, “Comes from pride and passion in wearing the red shirt.”
Showing his moral character, Shankly felt honesty was all important to his team. Honesty would bring out the best of one’s abilities.  He believed that honesty between himself and his players created an unbreakable, almost mystical bond. Guided by conscience, he was assertive, but never superior.

There was also a bond between Shankly and the supporters. His beloved Anfield stadium is a shrine to his memory, his ashes scattered on the pitch. The 15-foot high Shankly Gates and seven-foot tall bronze statue testify that Shankly is iconic, idolized, and revered.

Lesson Two – Go for the Gold!
“If you are first you are first. If you are second, you are nothing." – Bill Shankly

Supporters participating in an informal poll confirmed that respect for a leader hinges on his success, with over 20% of respondents saying Shankly’s most important leadership trait was his ability to achieve results.  The theory of achievement-oriented leadership says that a leader looks for and expects results, believing in his team’s ability to succeed. Shankly forged the path head-on, and then put full confidence in his players to give their best.
As a young manager, Shankly learned all he could of the back-room secrets about fitness and training and he brought that knowledge to Liverpool.  He was hard on his players, if they needed it.  He once said, "For a player to be good enough to play for Liverpool, he must be prepared to run through a brick wall for me then come out fighting on the other side."  He built his formidable team on skill, character, and eagerness, and then he outfitted them in all red so they were intimidating figures as well. 

Shankly had set for Liverpool a challenging goal, and through hard work, continuous improvement, and adherence to the plan, the path he laid truly did lead to gold - or, in the world of football, silver.

Lesson Three – Make the People Happy
“I was only in the game for the love of football – and I wanted to bring back happiness to the people of Liverpool.” – Bill Shankly

In The Truth aboutLeadershipthe authors write that leadership is “an affair of the heart” and that it is the task of leaders to serve others. Leaders, they say, make others feel more confident and capable, and elevate them to a higher plane, both morally and in performance.
While he had a lofty goal, Bill Shankly’s character exuded selflessness.  One supporter said that Shankly had “stark, effortless, and wholly genuine humanity.” He has been called compassionate, and “a man of the people.” He spoke the language of the listener, and had a way of positively engaging all who came into contact with him. He answered letters from fans personally, with graciousness and humility.

Those who played football for him say that Shankly would “make you feel like the best player in the world; and you and the team feel invincible.”  Shankly drummed it into his players that they were privileged to play for the fans, telling them if they gave the fans what they wanted, they would be their heroes. And they were. 

Legacy of the Lessons
Bill Shankly came to Liverpool Football Club in December 1959. The club was, at that time, in the second division of England’s Football Association. Like every manager and team in the F. A., Shankly’s goal was to be first division.  But Bill Shankly wanted more than that.  His vision was to “build Liverpool up and up and up, into a bastion of invincibility.”  Shankly was the first Liverpool manager to win a European trophy, and thus had taken Liverpool to world-class greatness they would never forget. He won only five trophies in his fifteen year tenure at Liverpool, yet each was like a fairy tale for the team and its fans. His is a legacy of a family of supporters, generation after generation, wholly devoted to their team, their manager, and each other.  He transformed a team and some say, the game of football.

His humanity, compassion and positive interaction with all not only showed people he cared, but also garnered the best from any situation, all for the benefit of the club and its supporters.

Bill Shankly set a high goal, brought home the trophies, and made the people happy.  
“Above all, I would like to be remembered as a man who was selfless, who strove and worried so that others could share the glory, and who built up a family of people who could hold their heads up high and say, 'We're Liverpool.’” – Bill Shankly

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Support ACS and Win a Beautiful Paul Fontana Original!

Friends,

As part of our American Cancer Society fundraising, Team Phipps is offering chances to own this beautiful painting by Paul Fontana!  Entitled "CabaƱas," the work is 12 x 12 x 1.5

Tickets are only $1 each. If you would like to buy a chance or ten chances or even 100 chances, visit my Team Phipps Relay for Life page and leave a donation with a personal note to me that you are buying tickets, and we will put you in the drawing.  Other options are Paypal or sending a check, for which you need to contact me.  The drawing will be on or after May 18, 2012.

To my friends in other towns or countries, if you participate and win, I will personally pay the postage to ship the painting to you!  Can't ask for a better opportunity.

Thank you for supporting Team Phipps' fight against cancer!

Cheryl