Discipline is Undoubtedly a key to good leadership. It is also undoubtedly a subtle trait that is difficult to define and master. It entails adhering to sets of rules and systems of behaviors with integrity. It provides a frame of reference for how you interact that both you and your team can count on as you work together. Importantly, it provides a basis for common understanding for you and the team. This is particularly crucial when tough decisions have to be made. An example:
About mid-career, I was running a set of relatively small campuses for a university. On one particular day I was explaining to an about-to-be ex-employee why I was not renewing his contract. The reason was simple: He just couldn’t bring himself to follow the rules, even though he knew them well, and he knew that the rest of the team and I played by the rules. He argued his case for noncompliance admirably. I countered that in order to serve our students we needed to move in the same direction with the same sets of parameters, processes and procedures. As we discussed his impending dismissal, he suddenly stood up and said, “You are the most disciplined individual that I have ever met. I don’t like it, but I admire you.” At the time I didn’t understand exactly what he meant. It was a number of years later that a surprising source clarified things for me.
One of the perks of my position as president of an organization was that I got to meet a lot of high profile people, from politicians to media celebrities to athletes. Some encounters were highly structured and business-oriented. But occasionally I had the chance to sit and talk one-on-one in a more relaxed atmosphere. On these occasions I always tried to engage people in discussions about their philosophies of work and life. A few years ago I had the pleasure of hosting a well-known athlete and his wife at our home. We were standing in the kitchen discussing the finer points of his sport when I asked him how he prepared in the off-season. He said it was simple. He had determined that it took him precisely 13 weeks to get into shape for training camp. So he counted backward 13 weeks from the first day of camp and began his regimen on that day. He then executed a specific set of exercises and routines each week. At the end of 13 weeks, he was prepared for training camp. Now that’s discipline! Later, as I pondered his exacting timetable, I realized what my employee had meant those many years ago. He knew that I didn’t want to dismiss him. But he also understood that I had to adhere to a set program in order to accomplish my goals and the goals of the institution. To his credit, he also acknowledged that he was incapable of that same discipline.
