QUARTERBACKS AND WINNING TEAMS

Peytonmanning

I overdosed on college football last weekend. I make all kinds of promises about limiting how much I actually watch on a Saturday. But I am totally addicted. If a college game is on TV, I'm watching it. I absolutely love it. 

One of my favorite college football teams is the University of Tennessee. The Big Orange. 

I graduated from Vanderbilt, which has never been much in football. So, I followed Alabama closely for years. But, when I met and married Sally, who was a cheerleader at Tennessee, I got religion at Rocky Top, and now I bleed bright orange. 

For ten years, disgruntled Tennessee fans have been waiting for the Second Coming of Peyton Manning. But that ain't happening. 

UT's dominance and strong showing in the Top 10 have vanished. They now have a great defense, the leading rusher in the SEC, but their quarterback has been terrible. 

Until last weekend. 

John Crompton is the quarterback for Tennessee. Since the season began, he's been just awful to watch. But, because of his performance last Saturday, he may be selected as the Offensive Player of the Week. He finally showed up as the Quarterback. As the team's real leader. He was, as they say, in the zone. He was incredible. The team responded, and Tennessee crushed their rival, the University of Georgia. 

Just watch the teams that are winning...or losing. When Colt McCoy at Texas is on his game, they win. When Oklahoma's Heisman quarterback went down with a shoulder injury, their hopes for a National Title clearly came to an end. Tim Tebow has raised the bar for all quarterbacks. Frankly, he's raised the bar for every kind of leader. 

All championship teams, the so-called dynasties, are best-remembered because of their amazing quarterbacks. 

This comment will date me as a disheartened (and old) Dallas Cowboy fan, but I'm still waiting for the Second Coming of Roger Staubach. That, I'm afraid, ain't gonna happen either. 

Here's the deal. Here's what we need to know. 

Having a great quarterback is no guarantee for a winning team. Most good quarterbacks know that their success is based upon the supporting cast of people around them. They can't do it alone. 

But without a winning quarterback, without an effective leader, no team will ever achieve greatness.

That is the nature of leadership. It's true in every segment of our lives and our society. 

In the home. In the church. In the political arena. 

We are watching the quarterback. It always comes down to the leader on the field. 

What play will he call? How will he handle himself under pressure---when the team is losing and it's late in the game?Will he or she bring to the table what it takes for the team to achieve greatness?

Leaders build teams. As leaders, we recruit individuals. We're always looking for that handful of good players, players with whom we can connect deeply and often. Then, we train, coach, mentor and invest in them in way that builds them into a winning team. 

We must also remember that not all great leaders have a winning team. Life happens. We don't control everything. 

Sometimes a quarterback's greatness, or a leader's effectiveness, remains undetected until he recruits the right people. 

Sometimes, leaders must start over. 

Whenever we see a growing, effective and winning team---a team with chemistry, a team with heart and passion and commitment---it's because there is a leader among them showing the way. 

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