Quiet Stregnth
I've been rereading the book "Quiet Strength" by Tony Dungy lately. I like to read it about once a year or so. I think it might have been his first book. It was published in 2007 the year after Indianapolis won the Super Bowl.
I have always been a Tony Dungy fan. I wasn't into football when he started coaching at Tampa Bay. By the time I had started to notice him he had been coaching the Colts for a few years. He is a class act all the way around. I remember watching the 2006 Super Bowl where the Colts played against the Chicago Bears. I rooted for the Colts. I had to, no self respecting Packer fan roots for the Bears-ever. In a business filled with egomaniacs, low level thugs and loudmouths, he is refreshingly human....and humble.
The book is sort of an autobiography of Coach Dungy. He talks about his short career as a player in the NFL and how he made the transition into coaching. He takes the reader through the jobs and other events in his life and ends at winning the Super Bowl.
I like the fact that he shows you don't need to be a Donald Trump type person to be a leader. His style of leadership is to set goals, plan a way to meet those goals and then to help his players play to the best of their abilities in order to reach those goals. When he wrote about his first head coaching job in Tampa Bay, he wrote about wanting teachers. He's not the type of person that uses fear and intimidation to lead.
He relates one episode in his book where he does yell at his players. Not for missing details or for playing badly in a game, but for missing scheduled personal appearances. One of the players had missed a visit to a fourth grade class and then missed a visit that had been rescheduled. He was very upset because he felt that many players still held the attitude that if something wasn't personally important, it was not necessary to put much effort into it. Coach Dungy explained to his players that all the details are important and paying attention to them is what wins games. It is also important to be someone that can be relied on. In fact he wrote that being able to count on his players is as important as their talents. I agree with this completely. Too many people make empty promises. They think, "Oh well...didn't get to it. They'll understand. Someone else can take care of it."
Another thing that becomes clear as you read the book is that Coach Dungy's faith is very important to him. He writes about praying for help when big decisions needed to be made. What would God want him to do? He jokes about wishing that the "still, small voice" was a little bit louder or a little more clear. He and his family also do their best to live as they believe.
He writes about coaches and others who have mentored him throughout his career. There was a team chaplain in Minnesota who taught some lessons about leadership through the book of Nehemiah. Denny Green mentored him in coaching and dealing with the media as a coach. There were other coaches in Pittsburgh and in Kansas City that influenced Coach Dungy. He learned many things from everywhere he worked.
He has reached out to people in other ways besides coaching. He works with a group that mentors children and another group called All Pro Dad. All Pro Dad helps men to improve as father and gives them ideas on how to interact with their children. After he was fired from Tampa Bay, he began to wonder if this was God's way of transitioning him out of coaching. One of the things he had been doing during the off season was to work with a prison ministry. Maybe God's plan for him was to work full time with the prison ministry.
As we all know, that didn't happen. After much thought, prayer and discussion with others that they trusted, Coach Dungy and his wife decided to take the job in Indianapolis that was offered to them.
It would be nice to say that the path went smoothly and all was well for Coach Dungy and his family. There were ups both professionally and personally and downs both professionally and personally. He writes a bit about the suicide of his oldest son, James, and how that affects him to this day. He felt that he lost his credibility as a father and mentor because of this. He realised that these things happen even in stable two parent "good" families. He used it as an opportunity to reach out and help others.
The book has a happy ending and a message. The happy ending is, of course winning the Super Bowl. The message is that while winning the Super Bowl was a goal for Coach Dungy it was never the purpose of his life. His purpose is to glorify God and to help others fulfill their purposes. He reminds up all that no matter who we are there is someone who looks up to us and we can make an impact for good.
I have always been a Tony Dungy fan. I wasn't into football when he started coaching at Tampa Bay. By the time I had started to notice him he had been coaching the Colts for a few years. He is a class act all the way around. I remember watching the 2006 Super Bowl where the Colts played against the Chicago Bears. I rooted for the Colts. I had to, no self respecting Packer fan roots for the Bears-ever. In a business filled with egomaniacs, low level thugs and loudmouths, he is refreshingly human....and humble.
The book is sort of an autobiography of Coach Dungy. He talks about his short career as a player in the NFL and how he made the transition into coaching. He takes the reader through the jobs and other events in his life and ends at winning the Super Bowl.
I like the fact that he shows you don't need to be a Donald Trump type person to be a leader. His style of leadership is to set goals, plan a way to meet those goals and then to help his players play to the best of their abilities in order to reach those goals. When he wrote about his first head coaching job in Tampa Bay, he wrote about wanting teachers. He's not the type of person that uses fear and intimidation to lead.
He relates one episode in his book where he does yell at his players. Not for missing details or for playing badly in a game, but for missing scheduled personal appearances. One of the players had missed a visit to a fourth grade class and then missed a visit that had been rescheduled. He was very upset because he felt that many players still held the attitude that if something wasn't personally important, it was not necessary to put much effort into it. Coach Dungy explained to his players that all the details are important and paying attention to them is what wins games. It is also important to be someone that can be relied on. In fact he wrote that being able to count on his players is as important as their talents. I agree with this completely. Too many people make empty promises. They think, "Oh well...didn't get to it. They'll understand. Someone else can take care of it."
Another thing that becomes clear as you read the book is that Coach Dungy's faith is very important to him. He writes about praying for help when big decisions needed to be made. What would God want him to do? He jokes about wishing that the "still, small voice" was a little bit louder or a little more clear. He and his family also do their best to live as they believe.
He writes about coaches and others who have mentored him throughout his career. There was a team chaplain in Minnesota who taught some lessons about leadership through the book of Nehemiah. Denny Green mentored him in coaching and dealing with the media as a coach. There were other coaches in Pittsburgh and in Kansas City that influenced Coach Dungy. He learned many things from everywhere he worked.
He has reached out to people in other ways besides coaching. He works with a group that mentors children and another group called All Pro Dad. All Pro Dad helps men to improve as father and gives them ideas on how to interact with their children. After he was fired from Tampa Bay, he began to wonder if this was God's way of transitioning him out of coaching. One of the things he had been doing during the off season was to work with a prison ministry. Maybe God's plan for him was to work full time with the prison ministry.
As we all know, that didn't happen. After much thought, prayer and discussion with others that they trusted, Coach Dungy and his wife decided to take the job in Indianapolis that was offered to them.
It would be nice to say that the path went smoothly and all was well for Coach Dungy and his family. There were ups both professionally and personally and downs both professionally and personally. He writes a bit about the suicide of his oldest son, James, and how that affects him to this day. He felt that he lost his credibility as a father and mentor because of this. He realised that these things happen even in stable two parent "good" families. He used it as an opportunity to reach out and help others.
The book has a happy ending and a message. The happy ending is, of course winning the Super Bowl. The message is that while winning the Super Bowl was a goal for Coach Dungy it was never the purpose of his life. His purpose is to glorify God and to help others fulfill their purposes. He reminds up all that no matter who we are there is someone who looks up to us and we can make an impact for good.
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