Good leaders face down incalcuable odds

  • Published
  • By Col. Matthew Burger
  • 349th Air Mobility Wing
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Although you've likely never heard of him, Willie Burton is a great leader.

The young man's only notoriety outside of his hometown of Fairdale, Kentucky, was earning the regional most outstanding wrestler honors for high school wrestling.

What makes Willie's story compelling is that he won the outstanding wrestler title despite winning only one match in four years of competition. More on Willie in minute, but his story got me thinking about the leadership attributes of courage and conviction.
Wrestling is a very personal sport. Two athletes square off and compete head to head.

Each brings their own strengths and weaknesses to the contest. Throughout the match, these personal attributes are on display for all to see. Wrestlers do not have the luxury of blaming a teammate or a coach for calling the wrong play. The wrestlers on the mat are fully responsible for the outcome of the match.

Successfully leading Airmen is similar in that regard. Good leaders don't look to place blame or diffuse responsibility for mission outcome. Good leaders accept responsibility. They have the courage to lead out front. Good leadership means not only leveraging one's own strengths, but also having the courage to admit what you don't know and rely on Airmen with more expertise.

Wrestling also demands conviction and commitment. Not only must wrestlers put in the preparation for each match, but to enter the ring even when up against a better opponent. Good leadership also demands preparation, conviction and commitment.

Good leadership demands the conviction to engage even when the odds are against you, the conviction to do the right thing, not just the popular thing. Good leaders spend time preparing to tackle issues, confronting challenges and the mountains of administrative work that support operations. Most of this preparation occurs in the background, away from the visibility of unit members, often late into the night and on weekends. This brings me back to Willie Burton's story.

What makes Willie such a great leader is his unwavering conviction to wrestle four high school seasons despite not even being able to walk. Willie has cerebral palsy.

Willie entered the ring hundreds of times knowing that the most likely outcome would be another loss. Imagine the courage required to crawl into the ring, engage in a head-to-head contest, knowing you are outgunned and probably going to lose.

What could possibly motivate Willie to put in the hours of practice including wheelchair wind sprints while the rest of the team ran on powerful legs? Willie's conviction and commitment is emblematic of what we expect from good leaders. Willie's story reminds us of how good leadership impacts those around us. Willie's story is much bigger than his win-loss record. Willie provided an example to not only his teammates, his classmates, and the region.

Good leaders do the same thing, through courage and conviction they build a team that is not driven by ego. They build a team willing to tackle the most difficult challenges. We need leaders at every level of the organization that have the courage to enter the ring.