A Leadership Masterclass

So, when one of my favorite business mentors got canned last week after 14-years of leadership, I tuned into the press conference appearing on YouTube the following day. In fact, I watched the 34-minute conference three times.

After the organizational leadership change was announced and the former head coach met with the press, his co-workers (past and present) caught up with him for dinner. There were millionaires who continued being elite performers at their jobs on the field as well as those who had gone on to excel in other varied careers. All had enjoyed success on the biggest stage. The dinner was a celebration of life for the living. All attending had stories to tell, appreciation to give, and love and hugs to share. Not a bad way to go.

This morning, after viewing and hearing YouTube #3 (and I know I’ll be back), I felt as if I’d just experienced a masterclass on leadership and building a vital workplace culture; but that would be an unfair assessment. Coach Pete Carroll’s vision requires a bigger picture, a larger canvas.

A Pete Carroll quote: “People make mistakes all the time. We learn and grow. If there’s patience and love, and you care for people, you can work them through it, and they can find their greatest heights.”

I hope my friends, colleagues, fellow Trojans and even Domer pals go to YouTube and give Pete’s sometimes emotional masterclass a watch. I took notes.

Some 20 years after escaping USC Dental School with paper in hand to prove I was indeed Dr. Jack Von Bulow, my life changed. My two decades of private practice hadn’t been the fulfilling experience I had envisioned.

I had become my mom’s caregiver. My dad and brother had passed. I was at a career crossroads. But what was an emotional challenge on several levels also opened my eyes and my ears to look for possibilities, being a new and improved active listener, and stepping into the shoes of advocacy. Helping Mom made me a better man and a better health provider.

The human interaction with patients and my team had always brought me the joy I needed to breathe. I truly began seeing everyone as family-they didn’t get a vote. Dental materials and technology transformed, creating room for artistry and creativity. And Dental Boot Kamp arrived just in time to provide leadership and verbal communication systems. We wrote down our goals and created a vision…that now included serving my team and our community. I started taking some chances. I began finding mentors.

By 2000, USC and I began experiencing a rebirth in energy, creativity, and community. Dr. Steven Sample had been USC’s president since 1991; he held a PhD in electrical engineering, retained numerous patents, and had a vision of the university reaching out into the community. I read his “The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership” while on jury duty in Pasadena.

A new School of Dentistry Dean arrived in 2000. Dr. Harold (Hal) Slavkin had been a wunderkind student and joined the faculty one year before my arrival at USC. Dr. Slavkin founded the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology at USC, headed up a federal health agency (NIDCR), and wrote the first Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health. Dr. Slavkin returned to USC as the Dean of the School of Dentistry and the foremost researcher of the genetics of dental and craniofacial development; he also introduced Problem-based Learning. After a tour of the campus following my email to him, critical of the state of USC dental school, Dr. Hal became a friend. The Mobile Clinic became mandatory, not optional, the school emphasized community outreach. The Dean encouraged me to write about the new state of USC Dentistry; he inserted my commentary within his page in Trodent, the dental school newsletter for alumni. I was honored.

In 2001, USC’s fifth choice for the football Head Coach position arrived in the form of Pete Carroll. After years of dominance, Trojan football was desperate to regain the success that had been dormant for almost 20 years.

During his 9 years at USC, the Trojans once went three years without a loss; their record versus rivals Notre Dame and UCLA was a matching 8-1. There were two national Championships, three Heisman Trophies and 7 consecutive Pac-12 championships and top 4 national rankings. Carroll next moved to the Seattle Seahawks for 14 successful years of leadership that included Seattle’s only Super Bowl victory. While he was coaching championship teams, Pete also founded A Better LA and A Better Seattle. Coach saw untapped positive leadership in gangs; he cared and he was chronically energized and optimistic.

There were cultural commonalities and consistency the three world-class leaders shared. And Coach Carroll carried relationship-based openness, community, curiosity, action, and fun from college to the NFL platform. And reading the comments shared by his long ago and recently former team members brought me to some tears that seem to show up more easily the older and more appreciative I become.

During Pete’s 9 years at USC, I attended every home game and made every trip back to Chicago and then South Bend and Notre Dame. I think I heard my brother approve each time I heard, “Welcome to Notre Dame Stadium.”

When my dental team and I composed our core values they were Family. Fun. Empathy. Appreciation. Represent (the community). Love. Enthusiasm. Service and Support. The first letters spelled out Fearless, but I knew real leaders and team members were too smart for that one. Our values helped us know our fears; they gave us the courage to overcome them.

On delivering his remarks, just before opening the news conference for questions, Coach Carroll assured the attendees, “I’m freakin jacked; I’m fired up. I’m not tired. I’m not worn down…I’m excited…”

Another Carroll quote, “I always think something good is about to happen.” Talk about Fight on.

And time for another masterclass and some never-ending appreciation.