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Are You Frozen in Time!

- One Leader's Perspective

By Greg L. Thomas

In 1991, two German mountain climbers came across a unique discovery in the Tyrolean Alps between Austria and Italy. It had been an unusually warm summer and the Alpine glacial ice was melting quickly after several years of above-average temperatures. What they found was absolutely incredible! Sticking out of the ice was the 4,600-year-old mummified remains of a man who lived in the Neolithic age. The Austrian press quickly dubbed him the “Iceman” and the discovery was a sensational find for science. First of all, his body was well very preserved, including the contents of his last meal! He was clothed in a leather insulated coat and boots. Along side him was his backpack, a bow, arrows, a copper headed ax, a flint lighter and kindling to build a fire. To the complete amazement of researchers, here was a man frozen in time for about 4,600 years. He was virtually unchanged from the moment he died.

There is an analogy I would like to draw from this actual event. The iceman died many millennia ago and had not changed. Even though he was in step with his times, the world had changed dramatically since the day he was apparently caught in a sudden snowstorm. By modern standards he had become an oddity or novelty to study because many things about him had long ago become obsolete. During the years the world had greatly advanced, but he had not. So there he was, an individual frozen in time, unchanging and now considered primitive. If we are not careful, we can cling to personal habits and traits that are now obsolete and past their time! We too can become frozen in time and greatly limit our potential as a leader of others.

There are certain characteristics that we need to change in order to achieve our highest potential. Change is not a single accomplishment, but an ongoing project. First, lets discuss some things that never change. Sound moral ethics and values do not change. For example, treating others with respect, dignity and kindness is a universal principle. Keeping our promises, commitments and responsibilities are eternal standards. Expressing thankfulness and appreciation to others for the life we have been given is a timeless virtue. However, there are many characteristics we all possess that have now outlived their usefulness. These may include archaic ideas, poor personality traits, negative attitudes or outmoded work habits. We become so comfortable with these qualities we may seldom notice them. But others probably do, and in time they become a barrier to our personal growth and to our ability to lead.

Allow me to give you an example of this. As a native Ohioan (Buckeye), I am very familiar with one of the greatest football coaches who ever lived. His name was Paul Brown and his lifetime of innovation and achievement are legendary. Paul Brown or PB was a respected patriarch of modern day American football. Aside from being a talented coach, he also invented a number of game strategies and equipment improvements. Some of these accomplishments included the concept of a team “playbook” and a bar to protect the face on the helmet. He learned his craft beginning as a high school coach in Ohio and later a college coach. PB was the original coach of the new franchise team called the Cleveland Browns in 1946. After winning 4 league championships in the old AAC (All American Conference), the Browns joined the NFL (National Football League) in 1950. They were considered by many loyal NFL supporters to be an inferior team with inferior players. Many observers expected the Browns to flounder playing in a real football league! But, PB and the Browns humbled many critics that first season in the NFL as they triumphed “week after week” and eventually won the NFL championship game against the LA Rams! For the next 5 seasons the Cleveland Browns dominated the NFL and earned deep respect. In 1962, PB was fired as coach of the Browns due to philosophical and personality differences with team owner Art Model. After a 13-year hiatus from the game, he returned to football as founder and owner of the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968. The Bengals were part of the AFL (American Football League) and would also merge with the dominant NFL a few years later. In 1969, PB was named AFL coach of the year and by 1970 the Bengals were playoff contenders! But the sport had been changing and over the next 5 seasons until his retirement on New Years Day in 1976, the game of football was changing dramatically.

In the final chapter of his autobiography entitled PB: the Paul Brown Story, PB recalls with regret how the game of football was changing. The influence of the local media was different. Players and their attitudes were different. The players’ agents were more demanding. As he completed a 45-year career, he realized the game was no longer “fun” and he remarked that, ”life was too short for me to live in this type of atmosphere. Much of the pleasure was gone.” What had happened? Society and culture had changed and this naturally included the game of football. However, as incredibly talented and experienced a coach as PB was, his methods and approaches to the game had become frozen in time. They no longer worked in this new environment. For example PB was always regarded as an intensive coach who portrayed a strong authoritarian style to his players. But his previous style of using fear and intimidation to motivate his team no longer worked effectively on his “prima donna” players, now represented by powerful agents! Even the next few coaches he immediately choose to succeed him displayed mediocre game results because having served on his staff, they had similar approaches to the team operations.

As leaders, we are a complex mixture of all the characteristics, skills, persona and traits that make us a unique individual. There is none other exactly like you in the whole world. Why? Because who and what you are has been forged since your birth. Influences like parents, culture, ethnicity, spiritual training, recreation, education and peers have made you into a one-of-a-kind special person! Much of what we acquire is good and wholesome, providing a foundation for our entire lives. Unfortunately, some of the characteristics we acquire are like heavy pieces of baggage which we seem to drag around everywhere we go and in everything we do. Successful leaders know that occasionally we need to take the time to open the baggage, examine its contents and begin to throw away the junk we have acquired and no longer need. Please don’t misunderstand. At a time in the past, most of these traits or characteristics may have had their place. They may have been useful, but the problem is that the world has changed, or we have grown and it is time for them to go. For example, if you grow up in a dangerous neighborhood where saying the wrong word or idle talk may endanger your life, you may learn to be reserved and overly cautious about anything you say. For that period of your life, it may have been a good survival skill. But, these same traits may later harm your marriage, personal relationships, or limit your career opportunities.

How do we guard against some of our attitudes, traits and skills becoming frozen in time? We take the time to step out of our daily routine and reinvent ourselves! The truth is that our minds are always open to learn new things. We have the ongoing ability to both learn and unlearn things, but we must care enough to make the effort. We must discipline ourselves to set aside a certain time for personal reflection and examination. Rather than becoming fossilized like the “ice man” and frozen in time, we would be better served by observing what occurs annually in nature. I live in a part of North America that is close to the Great Lakes. During this time of year an annual change is taking place in my native environment. The outside world, which was frozen, has begun to thaw and new life is beginning to come alive. Plants like tulips and daffodils are out of the ground. Buds are beginning to swell on many plants, including forsythia and rose bushes. But, here is an important point! Not only are they coming to life, they are not the same as they were last year. Due to a new environment and age they will grow differently this year than they did last year! The same holds true for us.

Why not follow the example of the world around us in the northern hemisphere? We are older and wiser than we were a year ago. Certainly we are far different than 5, 10 or 20 years ago when we acquired certain skills and traits now outdated. Like nature, spring is a beautiful time to come out of our mental hibernation and begin a process of new growth. As an avid gardener, one of the first things I do each spring is go out to the flowerbeds and remove the dead debris from previous seasons lying in the beds and inhibiting the new growth. In the same way we can groom our leadership capabilities by taking the time to remove the obsolete debris from our lives. But knowing this means nothing if we are unwilling to take the time for self-reflection and develop a plan on how to make these needed changes.

I would like to remind you what author and consultant Tony Robbins states are the three things that control your destiny:

1. Your decisions about what to focus on.

2. Your decisions about what things mean to you.

3. Your decisions about what to do to create the results you desire.

To avoid being frozen in time you must create a personal strategy that is built and designed on a foundation of strong personal values. Upon this foundation you must have the courage to accept that some of the characteristics and traits we acquired may have served us well for a certain period of time. But due to time and age they become weathered and need to be replaced. Do you see any of the following characteristics in your own life? Maybe in the way you treat friends or family? In the way you react to stress? Perhaps how you deal with money? Do you spend too many hours in your career to supposedly “get ahead”? Are you doing certain things in your life for the wrong motives? Do you immediately react in a negative way to new situations? Do people you meet get a sense that you genuinely care about them? Are you doing certain things that are harming your health? These are the kinds of questions we need to ask ourselves. The first step is to take some quiet time and think about where you are, and where you want to go.

Now…take some more time and develop the plan on how to get there. Allow nature to remind you that change is good and healthy. Contrary to popular belief, you can teach “an old dog” new tricks, or even an old person!

As long as he or she is not a fossil.

Comments to: gthomas@leadingtoday.org

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About the author:

Greg has an extensive thirty-five years experience in public speaking and has spoken to hundreds of audiences worldwide. Greg has a Master of Arts degree in Leadership from Bellevue University, where he also has served as an adjunct professor teaching courses in business management and leadership since 2002. His first book, 52 Leadership Tips (That Will Change How You Lead Others) was published in 2006 by WingSpan Press. His second book, Making Life's Puzzle Pieces Fit was published in March 2009. Both are available at amazon.com. Greg is also the president of Leadership Excellence, Ltd and a Managing Partner of the Leadership Management Institute. Leadership Excellence, Ltd. effectively builds individuals and organizations to reach their highest potential through enhanced productivity and personal development using a number of proven programs. He is also the president and founder of weLEAD Incorporated.

References:

Brown, P. & Clary, J. (1979). PB: the Paul Brown Story. New York: Signet Book (New American Library)

Robbins, T. (1992). Awaken the Giant Within. New York: Fireside Book (Simon & Schuster)