Yes, I am a huge hockey fan and I know you may not be.  The following story is about how the leadership of a hockey franchise transcended the game into leadership lessons we can use. Thanks for sticking with me, and let me know what you think.

(Courtesy of Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post )

On December 28, the Washington Capitals traded their Captain Chris Clark.  When the trade occurred, the Caps had just beaten two top teams, and won four out of their previous five games. The team was clicking on all cylinders. General Manager George McPhee saw an opportunity to improve the product on the ice. The Caps traded Captain Clark and Milan Jurcina for a big speedy rugged forward name Jason Chimera.

Did GM McPhee find a missing puzzle piece? Hockey players are people just like you and me. Players can resist change just like the rest of us.  React they did. Turmoil set in. The Caps lost their next three games and played very poorly in two of them.

Regardless of the reason, it is never easy to change leadership.  With the ice flooding with water, the Capitals announced Alex Ovechkin as team Captain on January 5, 2010 hours before game time. Moments into the game the PA system introduced to the sold out crowd their new Captain.  The energy in the building changed from a flat calm to a fiery un-leash the fury celebration.

That night, the Zamboni left a smooth sheet of ice for them to skate on. Their team transformation and maturity took an earnest stride forward. The Caps have adopted a team identity of skating harder and faster than their opponents do, playing more physical and defensively responsible, and have an unquenchable thirst for scoring goals. They are crushing their competition with an undeniable killer instinct.  They play the game the same way as their 2 time MVP Captain Ovechkin plays it.

Last night’s win in Boston gave the Caps an 11 game franchise best winning streak and a 14-1 record since their new captain took the ice on January 5^th.  Getting on the same page has truly benefited the Washington hockey community.  Their competition would surely like to have the old team back.

I was talking to Brendan Morrison after they had won five in a row.  I asked him if he was tired from the compressed NHL schedule and the multiple west coast road trips. My recollection of his response goes something like this.

“Winning makes it fun to come to the rink. We have more energy to skate extra hard.  We feel confident that every chance we take will be rewarded. We expect to win.”

Consider these comments from the post-game interviews last night.

Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “When you’re on a winning streak, you find ways, good things happen. When you’re losing, you hit crossbars and the other goalie makes incredible saves like Theo did tonight.”

Tom Poti said “It’s nice to have streaks and stuff, but we have bigger goals for this team.”

Brook Laich said “Proud of our guys, proud of our coaching staff” and “lots of fun, we have some interesting characters (in the locker room)”

We can learn a lot by digesting this leadership story.

I am reminded how important leadership is to success. People and organizations take on the identity of their leaders.  Leaders have great clarity and perspective. They do not let adversity bother them. They lead from what makes them internally strong. Leaders have fun and are not afraid to take risks. They cannot be successful without people believing in their leadership. Diverse groups of people are important to successful teams. Being successful in whatever endeavor you under take begins and ends with you.  Defining what success means to us can define what success means for our team.  No challenge is too big to overcome. Overcoming our challenges begins with the recognition they are not challenges they are opportunities to learn and grow.  Setting our sights on a much large vision creates energy and focus to making ourselves a better version of ourselves each and every day.

What leadership stories are missing from your story?

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You will remember January 27, 2010 forever.

Apple’s long rumored innovative trans-formative device will be unveiled to the masses.  No device has been more highly anticipated than this one.  We expect Steve Jobs to knock it out of the park.  He will paint a brilliant masterpiece describing how this device will change the world.  We want to believe. We want hope.  We want this device. We do not need to know what it is. We want it anyway. We want this to be something trans-formative. We will buy as many as Apple can produce.  Santa Claus is delivering our presents today.

President Obama delivers the most important speech of his young presidency.  A year ago, he entered office to change Washington; to transform the world. We believed. We hoped. He was last year’s Santa Claus. Something happened. Our expectations went un-met.  We lost hope. We stopped believing.  Deep inside, we still want to hope. We still want to believe. We still want something trans-formative. Tonight, he will try desperately to restore our hope and belief.

Will you pay attention and listen as eagerly to President Obama as you will to Steve Jobs today?

These events are important for you, for our country, and for the world. Jobs and Obama will send a message to the masses.  The masses will decide if they believe in the message. You will decide if you believe. You will decide to restore or withhold your own hope.  Today, is your day to decide.

What can you do to restore hope and belief in your future?

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