Jerseys tell a story. One of the greatest opportunities an individual has in life is to be part of a team. In the world of sports, that spot on the team comes with a jersey. The jersey traditionally contains the team’s name, the player’s last name, player’s number, and a patch on the sleeve. Four unique chapters in the story that the jersey tries to tell us.
In the world of leadership, we wake up each morning and put a jersey on. It may be a dress shirt, blouse, apron, coveralls, or a uniform. Whatever the attire, it tells the story of who we are and what we represent.
Here are the four components of a jersey and the story it can tell about us:
Name on the Front
The name on the front of a jersey represents the team we play for. It represents a cause greater than oneself. It links us with the group of people we take the playing field with for the big game. The group that we collectively work with towards a common objective. The concept of TEAM places individual achievement secondary to the team’s success.
In sports, the name on the chest is larger than the one on the back. That is both symbolic and strategic. It demonstrates that the team, WE, is greater than ME.
The organizations we lead and serve represent the name on the front of our jerseys in leadership. It may not appear across our chests, but it appears on business cards, badges letterheads, websites, and our logos.
The leader’s responsibility is to serve the team, the name on the front. Too often people fall into the trap of focusing on the name on the back, prioritizing ME over WE. Individual aspirations exceed the good of the team. We should display our names in lowercase and the team’s in uppercase. It proudly displays our priority for the world to see.
Name on the Back
In sports, when you step onto the field of play, the name on the back represents those who carried the name before you, we who wear it today, and those who will carry the name on into the future.
Personally, I have always felt a deep connection with my last name. It establishes a standard for which I live my life. That eight-letter last name represents generations of people who paved the way for me to be who I am today.
Country music artist, Dierks Bentley, has a great song entitled, My Last Name. The lyrics say, “Daddy always told me far back as I recall…Son, you’re part of somethin’…You represent us all…So keep it how you got it, as solid as it came…it’s my last name.”
As leaders, we need to constantly be aware of the name on the back and what it represents. We have a responsibility to do well by it. Whether we inherited it, married into it, were adopted into it, or need to break the chain of it, it’s our last name.
Those we lead pay attention to what the last name on our jersey represents. They see it through our beliefs, but more importantly our actions. They are watching us take the field daily.
The Number
The number is the most unique part of the jersey. In most sports, you cannot have the same number as a teammate.
You share the name on the front, and some players even share the name on the back, but the number represents something unique to you on the team. Something special to you that no one else has. It is an identifier that sets you apart.
Every leader has a different uniform number. None of us are wired the same. We lead from different experiences, backgrounds, skill sets, and styles. When we truly represent the uniqueness of the number on our leadership jersey, we appear authentic and genuine to those we lead.
People follow real, authentic, and genuine leaders. When we attempt to wear someone else’s jersey, people see through the façade. We become imposters that no one desires to follow.
We must capitalize on our God-given strengths, be cognizant of our weaknesses, and adapt when necessary to the circumstances. When all else fails, being uniquely us should be our default. We are numbered that way for a reason.
Patches on Sleeves
The sleeve is a place for honoring someone or something. It typically comes in the form of a patch. Teams wear American Flags, a retired player’s number, or someone’s number that recently passed. Whoever or whatever it is, it has made a large enough impact on the organization that the patch was worthy of its placement. It demonstrates a deep appreciation for someone or something that interceded the team.
Interceders are, “someone or something that redirected our journeys.” The honoree of the patch left the team or organization better than they found it. That is our calling as leaders.
When we hang our leadership cleats up, we will be measured by one question. Did we leave the organization and the people we led better than we found them? If we have, the patch will be there for future generations to see.
Conclusion
Spend some time reflecting on those coaches and/or leaders that we watched wear those jerseys well. It’s also beneficial at times to reflect on those coaches and/or leaders that didn’t wear the jerseys so well.
Leadership is not easy. Our jerseys can be tattered, torn, and stained. Regardless of the condition, the most important story the jersey has to tell…is yet to come. The next page is blank and ready to be written on.
Jerseys tells a story, give it a good script to work with.