Red Wings Provide Lesson in Leadership

Here in Detroit, we have been blessed to have had perhaps two of the greatest leaders in the history of hockey, maybe even in all of sports, in Steve Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom. The former and current captain of the Red Wings hockey team demonstrate the qualities that a good leader should have, and I believe that from them we can learn some larger lessons on leadership that we can then apply to many of our current politicians.

The words that have been used to describe the leadership qualities and skills of these two captains include: Calm, cool, collected, controlling the highs and lows, working hard, poise, humility, grace, humility, modesty, and leading through example. These two captains are not the kind that always feel the need to give speeches about their leadership; rather, they lead. And they rarely seek out awards and accolades; in fact, they both appear uncomfortable with the deserved recognition that they receive for their talents and leadership. In addition to winning numerous individual awards, they have also led the Red Wings to many Stanley Cups and have led teams that have dominated their sport for almost 20 years.

The Red Wings are currently locked in an epic battle with the San Jose Sharks in a series that I honestly wish would never end- two mighty teams locked in a titanic struggle of wills, both teams playing the game the right way, both teams giving it their all, showing the world how awesome hockey is- if this series was played for another dozen games I'd be happy! Watch Game 7 on Thursday at 9:00 pm eastern time.

Contrast the leadership of Stever Yzerman and Nicklas Lidstrom with the qualities of the current leadership in our nation, both Republican and Democrat. Would you describe Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Donald Trump, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, or John McCain as calm, cool, collected leaders? I wouldn't- although Obama sometimes appears as a icy professor, his eyes give away that behind that icy facade he is burning with a fire and passion that has driven him to success. Pelosi and Reid and Trump and Gingrich and McCain all are excitable and sometimes shrill leaders; leaders yes, but not the collected types who are under control at all times.

Whereas Yzerman and Lidstrom demonstrate poise and grace, those qualities are absent from Trump and Pelosi and McCain and Reid, who all appear to be more emotional and awkward, whether because of bad hair, shrill speaking, politically-incorrect jokes, or incoherent statements.

Yzerman and Lidstrom are modest and humble; contrast that to spotlight grabbing Obama or Palin, who both can't go a day without bragging about what they do and seeking recognition for their successes.

George W Bush had some of these qualities about him, and I think that explains his growing popularity as we move farther away from his Presidency, and Reagan and FDR and Washington all demonstrated during their presidencies these leadership traits of being cool, collected, humble, modest, graceful, and poised, and under their leadership America got better- maybe not as great as many wanted and perhaps made some mistakes along the way, but they all had the kind of Presidencies where after they were done people looked back and were okay with the direction the nation had gone.

Do any of our political leaders have these qualities and skills? Perhaps Hillary Clinton? Perhaps a Mitt Romney?

Our next President should look to these great Red Wings captains for leadership qualities and skills.

UPDATE: Via ABC News, George W Bush comments on the death of bin Laden... and does not spend an entire speech on all that he did, does not highlight all the work he did trying to catch and kill OBL, and does not try to garb himself in some sort of false populist mantle. Here is what he instead says:

Bush said Obama described in detail the secret mission to raid bin Laden's Pakistani compound and the decision he made to put the plan into motion. He told Obama, "Good call."

"The guy is dead. That is good," Bush said of bin Laden. "Osama's death is a great victory in the war on terror. He was held up as a leader."

"The intelligence services deserve a lot of credit. They built a mosaic of information, piece by piece," he said, claiming no credit for himself.

"I met SEAL Team Six in Afghanistan. They are awesome, skilled, talented and brave," he added. "I said, 'I hope you have everything you need. One guy said, 'We need your permission to go into Pakistan and kick ass.'"

Humility, grace, uncomfortable claiming credit, modest, and cool- traits that Obama would do well to emulate if he wants to be half the quality of a leader as President Bush.