While following the recent media coverage around the Denver
Broncos quarterback situation, I can’t help but find myself
completely supporting Kyle Orton and liking him even more as a
player and as a leader.
Last week Kyle Orton had gotten the attention of certain
sportscasters who were criticizing him for making a comment around
not really caring whether the fans liked him or not, and that his
priority is to the team and his teammates. Amen and halleluiah.
Finally a good guy, a solid player and now a professional athlete
who understands what the fans really want, a quarterback who is
more concerned with productivity than likeability.
And you know the deal, if the productivity is there, the
likeability will follow.
Isn’t this true in all areas of our life? Too many people,
including a lot of leaders, think that life is a popularity
contest. Some get so far off task or target in their pursuit of
being liked that they completely abandon their responsibilities and
priorities.
Let me ask you a few questions, would you rather have a teacher
who educated your child or a teacher who worked hard at being liked
by your child? Would you prefer a doctor who needed some bedside
manner training but saved your life or a doctor who barely got
through medical school but was just an incredibly nice guy? And
would it be better to work for a CEO who was a tough driver of the
business, firm but fair, and who built a sustainable business or
work for a weak and waffling CEO whose desire to be liked was
leading the company down a path of financial ruin?
Sure, the answers are easy. And yes many of us have been blessed
to have had teachers, doctors and bosses who were both extremely
likeable and incredibly productive and efficient.
And this is not a knock on Tim Tebow. I think that guy has
awesome potential and an amazing future in front of him. I just
think that the media pushed Kyle Orton into a corner with some
really inappropriate lines of questioning, and yet Kyle Orton rose
to the occasion and had the class and nerve to speak the absolute
truth. His teammates expect productivity, his ownership demands
productivity, and Broncos fans everywhere want a lot of points, a
bunch of wins, post-season play, and another Super Bowl
championship.
Another presidential election will soon be upon us. The
commercials will be painful and plentiful as the candidates try to
win us over in an attempt to get us to “like” them enough to vote
for them. But will we really vote for whom we “like”? Or will we
vote for the guy or gal who is most capable of leading our country
through these unbelievably challenging times, regardless of party
affiliation or of our like or dislike for that individual?
Remember, if the productivity is there, the likeability will
follow.
Whether you agree or disagree I would love to hear your comments
at gotonorton@gmail.com and let’s make it a productive, likeable,
and better than good week.
Michael Norton, a resident of Highlands Ranch, is the former
president of the Zig Ziglar organization and CEO and founder of
www.candogo.com.
