When the season began, who would have thought that the Arizona Cardinals would even make the playoffs, let alone the Superbowl. Yet this perennial also ran came within a few seconds of being crowned the Super Bowl champs. Much of this year’s success can be attributed to the inspiring leadership of journeyman quarterback Kurt Warner and to the excellent organizational skills of Coach Ken Whisenhunt. These are two men with strikingly similar stories to success.
Although constantly counted out, Kurt Warner has continued to prove skeptics wrong. Most everyone knows his story. Cut by the Green Bay Packers, Warner is forced to take a job stocking shelves in a grocery store. To help pay the bills, he plays football for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League. After taking them to two Arena Bowls, he is signed by the St. Louis Rams and is sent to their NFL Europe team. In 1999 he is the backup for starter Trent Green. After Green goes down with an injury, Warner takes the Rams to two Super Bowls, winning one of them. Released in 2004, he was signed by the Giants to serve as the backup for Eli Manning. Released in 2005, he was picked up by the Arizona Cardinals to serve as the backup for new draft pick Matt Leinart. Given a chance to compete for the starting job, Warner rose to the occasion and showed his team how to believe.
Like Warner, Ken Whisenhunt had a long path to greatness. Drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1985 as a tight end, Whisenhunt would eventually play for the Falcons, Washington Redskins, and the New York Jets in his short nine year career. After a stint as a coach for the Vanderbilt Commodores, he would become a transient coach in the NFL. He coached for the Baltimore Ravens, the Cleveland Browns, and the New York Jets. Finally, in 2001, he was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers to coach their tight ends. In 2004 he became the Offensive Coordinator for the Steelers. When head coach Bill Cowher resigned in 2007, Whisenhunt was the heir apparent. However, he was passed over for the job. He then accepted the head coaching job of the Arizona Cardinals, and in two short years took a team that went 5 -11 in the year before he was hired to the Superbowl.
Just like Warner and Whisenhunt, I have seen the difference a leader who truly believes can make. During my senior year of college I was provided with the opportunity to student teach at a medium sized rural school. During a meeting with the principal, he told me that I would be teaching four different subjects for grades 8-12, but the bulk of my preparation would be for three World History classes.
He went on to tell me that each of these World History classes would be unique. The first class, he stated, was made up of college bound students. This would be my best class. The second class was made up of average students. The typical class I would see throughout me teaching career. The third class would be my worst. He told me not to expect much out of this group, because he didn’t. These students were trouble makers and individuals who would likely drop out of school.
Like any new teacher, my first few days were a little rough as I attempted to settle in. However, I continued to prepare my lessons and remained positive. I adjusted my teaching style to fit the various classes in an attempt to find the right fit. When the date of the first test arrived, I didn’t know what to expect. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that all classes did well. The biggest surprise was the third class. They seemed to respond to the positive feedback and actually scored as high as the college bound students.
At first, my supervising teacher thought this was just a fluke. However, the same happened on the next two tests as well. This result prompted a call from the principal’s office. Telling me that both the supervising teacher and he thought I was being too easy on the students, the principal said that the supervising teacher would develop and give the final. This, he stated, would help to level out the grades. Imagine their surprise when the students did just as well on the final.
The point of this story is not to say I was a good teacher. That I leave to interpretation by those students I have taught over the years who might run upon this blog. The point I wanted to bring home is that a leader who believes, and can effectively communicate that belief to his/her team, can make anything happen. Whether that be taking a perennial also ran team to the Superbowl or helping children to succeed. All you have to do is believe.