Being captain on the leadership council for the gymnastics team has taught me that becoming a leader is downright one of the most important aspects of being successful. But what’s even more important than being a leader is being a good leader.

Seth Godin’s book, Tribes, gave me a lot of insight on the traits of a leader, especially in terms of comparing a leader to a boss. Since I was named a member of the leadership council for the Rutgers Gymnastics team, I connected to Tribes on a personal level.

Being a good leader is about opening yourself up and connecting with your tribe to reach a common goal.

As a captain I use my personal beliefs, as well as new ideas I have learned, to push my team towards our goals on a daily basis.

Gymnastics

One idea that I have always felt strongly about that was touched upon in Tribes was the idea of not doing something for glory, but instead because you genuinely want to help.

“Which is true of all great leaders…They’re generous. They exist to help the tribe find something, to enable the tribe to thrive. But they understand that the most powerful way to enable is to be statue-worthy.” – Seth Godin.

Leaders want nothing more than to achieve their goals with people they care about and respect. They are open to ideas from tribe members and go out of their way to connect with these people.

This is my passion and this is why I enjoy my role on the gymnastics team as a captain in the leadership council.

Making personal connections with my team forms trust and makes the team work as a whole.
A tribe won’t reach a goal without the support and dedication from each member. If trust is formed, team members are more likely to follow my lead and trust the process.

“He didn’t tell them what to do. He didn’t manage the effort; he led it.” – Seth Godin.

Leading by example to me means not only leading in the physical aspect of gymnastics, but also in the leading aspect in itself. A boss is most interested in results, and doesn’t specifically care about the learning process to achieve these results. In my opinion, the process is when character is built and knowledge is gained.

Personally, I try to fine tune the process and focus on the small details, because that’s when habits are formed and greatness is achieved. Bosses don’t necessarily care about forming connections with their employees. Forming connections with other members of my tribe is not only a genuine hobby of mine, but it is key for our success.

While reading Tribes I couldn’t help but relate it to being a captain on the leadership council for the gymnastics team. Good leaders are vital to a tribe if they want to reach, or even surpass their goals. Just like in the book, I make it a point to lead my team and tribe by example. Because of this, I form trustworthy bonds between my teammates and do what I love to do.

To many people, being a quality leader may be distinguished as a person with great bravado and a dazzling command over a group of followers. 

For a person to be a good leader, some believe it is necessary to have an egocentric personality, constantly expressing their superiority.  Leaders are assumed to be known as larger-than-life figures that capture the attention of a crowd as soon as they step foot into a building.  Any believers that think these qualities are the key to leadership will never become a successful leader.

I was once one of these believers and didn’t consider myself capable of becoming a leader because I didn’t have the aptitude to be an assertive, commanding egotistic.  I didn’t think I could be the captain of my high school soccer team because I wasn’t an authoritative person.  I never thought I was fit to be the student body president because I lacked command.

Little did I know, the aforementioned characteristics are insignificant to becoming a great leader.

The books “Tribes” by Seth Godin and “Good to Great” by Tim Collins have altered my perspective of what it takes to be a great leader.  These authors have instilled the confidence that I have needed to take the next step in life and start leading my own tribe.  Anyone can become a leader.  Being a leader doesn’t require a specific make-up.  Everyone has the same opportunity to become a leader, it’s whether or not you choose to be one.  In Seth Godin’s eyes, being a great leader starts with taking initiative in whatever it is you believe in.  If you have a strong enough belief in an idea, the passion you have will project itself and followers who have the same passion will join the movement.

In the past few years, based on Godin’s views, I would have been considered a “sheep-walker”.  I kept my ideas to myself, I did what I was told, and settled on being content with everything.  But in the recent year, I’ve begun to walk away from being a “sheep-walker” and pursuing to be more of a leader.  Being a leader doesn’t mean you have to be the CEO of a large company, one can lead from anywhere within the organization.  I’ve been interning for a few months for this sports company that is getting ready to launch by the end of the year.  A team of us had been given a project, to analyze and scout players performing at the NFL combine.

Not many reports were being posted on a regular basis so I took the initiative and began to post as many reports as I could every day.  Other team members saw the passion I had and followed suit because they had the same passion.  I tried to help any team members who were struggling and give them any tips that I had picked up.  I would try to spark up new ideas to help enhance the project.  I wasn’t doing all this to look good for the CEO, but all my actions have been done to help benefit the organization and I believe that has been evident to the rest of the team.

If I received any compliment for any of the work, the first thing I’d say would be “Thank you, but the rest of the team had a lot to do with it, they deserve most of the credit.”

One must have a “blend of personal humility and professional will”, an excellent description from Jim Collins on what it takes to be a great leader.

One must have the will to do whatever it takes to help the organization grow and reach new limits and in doing so, they must also be able to keep a leveled ego through modesty and humbleness.  The quote of “personal humility and professional will” is going to be ingrained in me for the rest of my life.  Now, I’ve made it a ritual to say every morning when I wake up.

It is said that a person who does the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is insane. So what do you call a person that follows the lead of others into a path lined without any meaningful results?

Seth Godin has a name for these people, sheepwalkers. They say sheep will follow each other one by one over the edge of a cliff to their death because they were simply following the lead of the one in front of them.

Godin describes sheepwalkers as people who blindly obey and follow the lead of others into brain-dead tasks, even ones that are clearly wrong, inefficient, broken, etc. These sheepwalkers blindly obey because other people are doing it too, or because they are driven by the fear of any repercussions for not following in line.

Most people, if not all, have been a sheepwalker at one time or another.

While it doesn’t necessarily have to be sheepwalking in the sense of brain-dead jobs, it can be in a variety of actions. The child who obeys their parents’ wish for them to choose a certain college, major, or career path is a sheepwalker.

This isn’t to say they are necessarily wrong in doing so. For all they know, their parents have the better judgment and “know what’s best for their kid.” So we follow what they say and life goes on toward what should be a bright and successful future.

Now sheepwalking does not always have to be following the orders of a superior (parent, boss, or any other), it can also come from a peer or friend, someone on the same level as you. The sheep follow one another to their death because hey, all the cool sheep are doing it, they must be right.

Now we start to see the darker side of this phenomenon. Sheepwalking isn’t always so innocent.

One of the darkest and strongest forms of sheepwalking that I think everyone can relate to is peer pressure. My sheepwalking story is of one of my best friends. A freshman in high school, just shy of 16 years old. A kid that started playing hockey at the same time I did.

We started in the same hockey 101 class and went on to play hockey together for several years, traveling the state of Florida together, pursuing our dream of college hockey. He was a great kid with a great personality and had a very bright future ahead of him in school, hockey, and life as a whole.

Then one evening he became a sheepwalker.

He was hanging out with some of friends, kids I do not know, at one of their houses. His friends started popping pills and, as the sheepwalking goes, he followed their lead. To my knowledge, this was the first time he had done this, and according to the accounts of his “friends,” it was. This would also be his last time, as he overdosed.

I will never forget laying in bed and getting the phone call. In a flash, I was at the funeral, acting as pallbearer, carrying one of my closest friends.

Now here I am, living out our dream of college hockey, wondering where he would be were it not for that one slip of sheepwalking, following the lead of those undeserving of leading.

What is a tribe? According to Seth Godin, “A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea”.

Throughout everyone’s lives there is something that puts people together. They have things in common with other individuals. A shared common interest is extremely important to me because I have been on the positive side of joining a tribe.

The culture of a tribe is different than any other.

It may form bonds that are unbreakable. Everyone deserves to be a part of something special and I understand it is difficult to decide on joining something or not. But if you don’t know what to do, you should ask yourself “why not?”

When I was growing up, my father always used to tell me to not shy away from something that I was interested in and to never give up on my dreams and aspirations. During my short but eventful life, I have been a part of many tribes without even thinking about it.

The sports teams I’ve played on and the clubs I’ve joined all have something in common with one another: a shared interest. Having a common interest is an important key to being successful.

I have been on teams that have won championships because we all loved the sport and we played together. The clubs I have joined were and still are successful to this day. Joining Habitat For Humanity has changed my life. The other members of this tribe are truly remarkable. We all want to help those in need by giving them something they dream about.

Tribes are an integral part to most individuals’ lives. They help connect people that would not have been together otherwise.

Tribes create a culture between individuals that gives everyone the power to say and do what they believe is best. We trust one another, and trust is the single most important thing involving tribes.

Individuals that make up a tribe all want to make themselves better, while getting others from the outside to believe in what they set to achieve. I’ve met people that I never would have thought of getting to know. The tribes that are not successful are the ones whose members are selfish and not trustworthy.

Tribe members need to rely on one another to achieve maximum success.

A problem with tribes is not having everyone on board with the goal you plan on achieving. I have also been a part of tribes that have not worked out and that feeling is kind of depressing.

I left that tribe because their goals were different than mine and the members just didn’t care about each other. Every time I see one of them walking around, they act like I am not even there. It’s either their way or no way in their minds.

They don’t have the ability to change, even when change is necessary. I do not have ill will towards these members, it just didn’t work out and I moved on to bigger and better tribes.

When joining a tribe, one must say to oneself “why not?” because what is the worst thing that can happen? Like my example, when I joined a tribe, I just moved on.

It can either work out really well or not and you go find a new tribe to join. Obviously, you have to join something you are really interested in, or else you will want to leave. Thinking “why not?” goes for anything. Trying something you are unsure of can actually maximize your potential and help in the future. Why not take a chance at something that is unusual but can push you to another level?

Joining a tribe that someone is unsure about is always worth a shot, and can help in the present and future. It can change your life in a major way.

Reading both Tribes by Seth Godin and Good to Great by Jim Collins has given me a much more positive outlook on my future. Both books were very powerful and really spoke to me in an influential way.

Godin teaches how to become a leader, and to not be afraid of leading. Collins teaches how to use that leadership in your career and how to not only be good, but also be great. I have been able to relate both of these books to my internship and I find myself referencing the books often. Throughout this paper I will discuss some of my favorite parts of each book and mention ways that I have related the books to my life.

Tribes by Seth Godin is a book about leadership. Godin defines a tribe as a group of people who are connected to one another, a leader and an idea.

Throughout the book Godin encourages readers to find their Tribe, step up, and lead. I found this to be helpful because a lot of people our age struggle with finding that confidence to actually step up and lead. Seth Godin gives examples and encouragement to his readers by explaining how anyone can step up and lead, and ever since reading this book I feel that I have had a little extra confidence and motivation to be a leader.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the section titled “The F Word.” This section reveals the real issue in turning one’s ideas into reality, fear. Many people have good ideas, even great ideas, but may not have the will or confidence to take their idea to the next level.

Godin states, “In a battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.”

This quote spoke to me deeply because one of my biggest problems is taking action. I have always let the fear of failure take over my will to lead but ever since reading Tribes, I have a different outlook on leading. Everyone fails, everyone hits speed bumps and everyone needs to learn from their mistakes. If you let fear get in the way of this process, it will be very difficult to lead and become successful. After reading Tribes, I wake up a little more confident, and a little more fearless in leading.

Good to Great by Jim Collins is a great book that gives extensive research about a small fraction of companies that transition from a good company to a truly great company.

As Collins states, it is so difficult to transition from good to great. But with the right operational practices and behaviors, it is possible to become a great company. Collins, like Godin, proves that anyone can become successful and lead. Everyone comes from a different place and background, but we can all find the answers inside and become a truly great leader.
My favorite part of Good to Great is Level 5 Leadership. Collins reveals interviews with some of the “good” and “great” companies that determine the differences between the leaders. He finds that the executives that show Level 5 Leadership display “an unusual mix of intense determination and profound humility.”

These leaders invested a larger portion of their life to their company, worrying about the gain of the company, rather than the personal gain of the individual. These leaders often gave the credit to their teammates, rather than themselves and rarely spoke about themselves. According to Collins, this is what it takes to be a Level 5 Leader, and I couldn’t agree with him more.

In my opinion, it shows a serious amount of strength to become a truly humble person. If one is able to remain humble, while also putting forth an extreme amount of hard work and motivation, you have learned how to become a great leader. These attributes of being a leader apply very well to someone who is leading a company. For me, I can only do so much leading. When it comes to my internship, I try to lead as much as possible.

But I don’t only try to lead, I always refer to Jim Collins level 5 leadership attributes and try to emulate that as best as I can.

As I stated earlier, both Seth Godin’s Tribes and Jim Collins Good to Great spoke to me deeply and I am glad I had the opportunity to read them. I try to take their advice, be less scared, take risks, and remain humble as best I can. There are many lessons to learn as one is growing as a professional and Godin and Collins both tackle many of these lessons. I believe that reading these books has given me a more positive outlook on my life and future and I will continue to reference these books as I grow as a professional.

Being an Exercise Science – Sport Management major gives people the impression that I know what LeBron James eats before a game; in reality, I’d have to Google what team he plays for because I have no idea. While I posses very little knowledge about traditional team sports, my focus is completely dedicated to the sport of Motocross.

Most people laugh when I tell them that Professional Motocross is considered one of the most physically demanding sports in the world (Google seems to agree). In the Rutgers community, Motocross is an incredibly unfamiliar and underrepresented sport. It is astounding that a sport filled with such passion, commitment, and athleticism is curtained off from mainstream sport culture. Athletes continue to risk their lives in pursuit of a podium finish, regardless of the minimal reward.

This behavior can be better understood by reading Seth Godin’s Tribes. Seth Godin’s concept of a tribe is defined as a group of people who are connected to One Another, a Leader, and an Idea. This unfathomable desire to push the possible limits of man and machine is the core principle that makes the Motocross community a perfect medium for tribes to assemble. When I began reading Tribes, I immediately related everything to my own experiences involving riding and racing dirt bikes. Something that I can personally attest to, is that Motocross is something that you try once, and if you like it, it becomes a part of you for the rest of your life; the same can presumably be said about sport in general.

I first started riding dirt bikes when I was in first grade.

My neighbor owned a Honda Motorcycle dealership at the time, and let me borrow a bike to learn on. After eight years of riding recreationally, I started racing the East Coast Enduro Association (ECEA) Championship Hare Scramble Series. By freshman year of college, I qualified as an A-Class Racer, one step below AA/Pro class. Though I no longer race, I was able to land an internship with ECEA working along side their marketing department. The races themselves resemble a cross-country running event with motocross bikes, and are organized by local Off-Road Motorcycle Clubs, one of which I am apart of.

These events are profitable, but nobody within ECEA or their sanctioned clubs accepts a paycheck. Instead, revenue generated is given back to the hosting community, and used to cover the costs of the next event. The fact that nobody in the organization gets paid is a testament to the passion that these people have for perpetuating the sport. A large contributor to why ECEA is able to operate for its 44th consecutive year is because they use leverage to gain access to event properties. Using Godin’s Crowbar theory, ECEA promises profits and donations that will be recycled back into the local economy in one way or another. For example, after the Stump Jumper Hare Scramble, the organizing club, MCI, purchased AED devices for Eagleswood Township to install in their ambulances.

This is just one example of how an organization can go above and beyond to boost PR and gain access to otherwise unobtainable resources. ECEA and its clubs all embody what Seth Godin would consider a tribe. The organizational structure of ECEA consists of a President, Vice President, and subsequent leadership positions. Clubs have their own similar organizational structure using strategic positions and meetings that align with ECEA guidelines and goals.

While this organization has structure, it is not at all resistant to change.

Most of the board members are 45 years old, or older. When I came in to assist their marketing team, they were using an outdated, and terribly branded marketing strategy that I wanted to change. I was able to redesign their website, and series logos without opposition or resistance from existing ECEA leadership. Couple that with a redesigned social media plan, and ECEA is naturally progressing despite exclusively using volunteer efforts.

Overall, I believe that the off-road motorcycle community provides a unique system of continued progression purely due to the communication and collaboration of enthusiasts.

When being a part of a population, humans find different ways to separate themselves from the norm of that population. And with doing that, some are chosen to lead and some are chose to be lead.

The author Seth Godin in his book Tribes was mainly speaking about how the individuals that are the leaders go through certain processes and experiences that come with being the head of the pack.

In my experiences of having the role of being a leader, every main topic that was brought up in this book played some type of part. Right now, I am currently a Building Manager at the Werblin Recreation Center on Busch Campus. I have been there for three years now and in the management role for two. With being in this role, not only do I have to monitor the facility at all times but I also have to be a great leader and communicate with my staff so work sometimes doesn’t feel like work.

It started by stating the fact that what you have in front of you is an opportunity that not everyone has in life.

It is then the individual’s choice as to if they want to accept this opportunity or simply let it pass you by. Once that is established, the next question the leader is to ask their self is why me and why at this moment in time.

He states that some assume people are “born leaders” and those people are the individuals that should have management positions but then informs the readers how that may not be the case and I agree with him. A person could have great leadership skills but be horrible at organizing things and managing his time. With that, comes bad management.

Back when I was a server at Mccormick and Smicks in Bridgewater, my boss knew the perfect things to say to excite the servers so we would go out and work hard but at the same time he would consistently mess up my work schedule. I began to notice that I wasn’t the only one who he was doing this to either.

At least five other servers complained about their work schedule not being updated. It then became a problem when servers wouldn’t show up to shifts because he would wait until the day of to update the schedule. The manager would then call the server screaming at them for not showing up for their shift. Once that started happening, people began quitting left and right due to his lack of caring to stay on top of updating the system. He was able to make it seem like everything was under control when it was time to open for dinner, but the author was right about stability is simply a illusion.

Another topic I could relate to was when the author began speaking about how faith and religion work with leadership. With dealing with people, religion is a sensitive subject and a great leader knows that and always takes that into consideration. Leaders are also able to understand who around them lead like themselves or are they’re simply sheepwalkers. I never heard this term before but now that I know what it means, now I take time to look at my fellow coworkers at the recreation center to see who I am surrounded by. I feel that a lot of people in our society are sheepwalkers and don’t really have any interest in leading ever but will claim that that’s what they want to do because that is what everyone else is doing.

In conclusion, I really enjoyed reading this book for class and I have taken a lot from this. I view myself as a tight leader looking to find better ways to lead others and this book was filled with relatable topics that will help me in the future. Having the knowledge on how to lead people is one thing, and now it is up to me and the rest of the people who have read this book to apply it.