What does great leadership look like?

It doesn’t stem from reading books or hearing stories, but from living in the trenches, in the heat of the battle. 

Admittedly, at times, leadership is hard to notice from afar. But it’s never hard to feel. Great leaders have mysterious powers that can unite people and move them in the right direction with purpose. 

Often, we mistake managers as leaders. But managers do things right; leaders do the right thing. And leaders say the right thing.

They aren’t scared of confrontation; they are willing to be brutally honest and are always genuine. They are always willing to do the right thing when the right thing isn’t popular. 

They are strong in their convictions. There is no gray area — nothing is left to interpretation, as leaders have a distinctive plan and are willing to always evaluate it. Accountability is the foundation of any great leader. 

If you want to understand great leadership in action, look no further than Monday when Miami Heat President Pat Riley held his annual state-of-the franchise address with local media. 

During the season, Riley remains in the background, not commenting on the team or his coaching staff. Once the year ends, he sits down for a question-and-answer session about the past, present and future. 

Many people this week have focused on Riley’s terse comments about star Jimmy Butler, who predicted the Heat would have beaten Boston or New York had he been healthy. 

“If you’re not on the court, playing against Boston, or you’re not on the court playing against the New York Knicks, you should keep your mouth shut in your criticism of those teams,” Riley said.

However, the heart of Riley’s leadership message came from his larger disdain for players missing games for rest, injuries or other issues. 

Sure, this is a different era of sports, and load management is a big catch phrase in most cities — so much so that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver issued a minimum level of games played for any player to receive an award. 

But Riley doesn’t care about being politically correct or making everyone happy outside of his building.

Availability for him is as important as ability. Since he controls the pay scale, he isn’t going to give away the company’s money to then watch a player take nights off. 

“That's a big decision on our part to commit those kinds of resources unless you have somebody who's going to be there and available every single night,” Riley said.  

In his media session, Riley gave the world a glimpse into what leadership should look like. 

Now, many will claim that because he has won championships as a player and coach, his impressive resume grants him the freedom to challenge superstars, while others cannot. 

But those making this false claim don’t fully understand what makes a great leader. The reason Riley has his incredible resume is that he understands leaders don’t need a resume or banners. They need:

1. Honesty without fear of confrontation.
2. Be direct, don’t pull punches, but don’t act in anger. 
3. Set the standard, become the standard.
4. Don’t play favorites. 
5. Remain confident with a sense of humility.
6. Blame no one.
7. Follow through on what needs to happen, don’t allow outside voices sway decisions.
8. Be bold. Be brave and be yourself. 

When Riley walked off the stage, it was clear to everyone that things were going to change in Miami. With Riley leading — not managing — there is no grey area.

You either accept the standard — or the plane ticket out of town. 

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