Leading Winning Teams: 5 Leadership Lessons from Mushers

On a recent sub-zero day on a frozen lake in central Minnesota, I got a chance to witness great team leadership in action.  It was a crash course in what leading winning teams is all about.  Here’s what the experience was like, and five key lessons from the leaders themselves that we can all use in leading our own teams.

Notes and Resources:

• Prefer to read?  Here’s the full post:Leading Winning Teams: 5 Leadership Lessons from Mushers
• A great article posted on LinkedIn by Aaron Phillips goes even farther into detail with his conversations with several of the mushers featured in this podcast.
• If you are interested in a deeper dive into the interface between mushing and leadership, an hour well-spent would be with the Always in Pursuit podcast interview with 5x Iditarod champion musher Dallas Seavey, hosted by Mike Burke, an exceptional leader in his own right. 

Quotable:

“I have to figure out how to make each dog reach its best potential.”
- Libby Riddles, first woman to win the Iditarod

“They’re a great team because I eat beans and rice and they eat steak and eggs.
 - Iditarod musher Lance Mackay

“Good leaders do not secure their position by making others less confident. 
 - Caroline Blair-Smith, Musher

“It is not what the challenge is, it’s how the team handles the challenge.”
- Dallas Seavey, 5-Time Iditarod Champion

“My job is to make sure these dogs succeed.  The race portion will take care of itself.”
- Dallas Seavey

Related posts: 

How to Respond to Crisis: Four Steps for Leaders

Positive Feedback – Catch them Doing Something Right

Rapid Deliberation: 7 Ways to Hit the Target While Under Stress

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Thanks for listening, and Lead On!