A few years ago I attended a breakfast honoring Alabama University football coach Nick Saban.  In his remarks he shared with us that he begins every season with the statement: “I didn’t come here to be irrelevant!” Those 8 words profoundly illustrate a simple principle: the difference between leadership thinking and management thinking.

Leaders ask themselves 3 basic questions:

  • Who am I?
  • Who are we?
  • Where are we going?

In contrast, managers ask themselves two questions:

  • What happened?
  • How can I fix it?

Do you see the difference?  After Alabama’s disastrous 2006 season Nick Saban could have asked “What happened and how can I fix it?”  Instead his comment incorporates in 8 words a powerful message based on his answers to the three leadership questions:

  • I am someone with a purpose: to build a winning team.
  • We have what it takes to win!
  • We are going to be a team of winners!

The rest is history as he led the 2009 team become National Champions.

Managers obsess about the past and even the present.   Leaders look beyond their circumstances and lead ordinary people to peak performance.

How about you?  Did you come here to be irrelevant?