Yesterday was not only Super Bowl Sunday, but it was also Jennifer’s birthday! We had a fun gathering of the full family on Saturday, watching a University of Mary-Hardin Baylor basketball game in Belton, Texas. Katy and Evan met us from Dallas, and Cody met us from College Station. We brought Tanner and my parents and had a fun time watching basketball and celebrating together.
Yesterday after church, we met my brother, Blake and his wife, Kristen for a special birthday lunch.
Previously, I’ve posted a few times about Jennifer’s leadership qualities. For example, in 2017, I noted how Jennifer is “A Leader After God’s Own Heart.” In 2014, I shared “4 Leadership Jewels (C.A.R.E.) from My Wife, Jennifer.”
As I considered various books that exemplify her leadership, I thought of Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, among others but ultimately landed on Tony Dungy’s The Mentor Leader. Plus, a Dungy book for Super Bowl Sunday just made sense…
Jim Caldwell, Dungy’s successor as Head Coach of the Indianapolis Colts, pointed out that Jim Collins’ definition of a Level 5 Leader in his book Good to Great sums up Tony’s leadership DNA perfectly. According to Collins, “Level 5 Leaders”:
- Embody a paradoxical mix of personal humility and professional will.
- Display a compelling modesty, are self-effacing and understated.
- Attribute success to factors other than themselves.
- Display a workmanlike diligence—more plow horse than show horse.
- Attribute success to factors other than themselves.
- Set up their successors for even greater success.
Caldwell explained that Tony’s leadership style allowed him a sense of autonomy, development, growth, understanding, and ownership that ultimately led to him succeeding Dungy.
Click here for a summary of The Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy