With the passing of U.S. President George H. W. Bush, many stories of his life are surfacing. When you hear them, politics aside, you can’t help but think what a truly fascinating man he was—and what a meaningful legacy he leaves.
As an example, as we work on our Spring Training for Leaders workshop, baseball is on my mind, and President Bush loved baseball.
Before this week, I hadn’t heard how he’d met Babe Ruth 40 years before he became president or how he played in the first two College World Series or how he competed against famed Los Angeles Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully. Read about all of them here.
Not only was President Bush a fan of baseball, he was a wise business coach. He once said, “Don’t confuse being ‘soft’ with seeing the other guy’s point of view.”
Simply translated: It’s perfectly okay to carefully listen and understand what others are saying. They may be right; you may be wrong. Being objective demonstrates leadership.
President Bush also said, “Think about every problem, every challenge, we face. The solution to each starts with education.”
Simply translated: The more education we have, the better prepared we’ll be to handle problems and challenges that come our way, so keep learning.
Become familiar with the legendary leaders of our time and share their stories to inspire those you lead.
By doing this, you’ll create your own legacy of being a great leader who demonstrates the ability and desire to inspire, engage, and empower others. Their success becomes your success.