Misplaced Passion: A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing

You could feel the excitement in the room as the new coach took the stage. It was his first time in front of the media since he’d been announced as the new head coach and everyone wanted to hear from him. What was his philosophy and vision for the team? What was his style? How would he build a winning program in this new era of college athletics? Those and many more questions floated in the air.

Many of those questions were answered. Some could not be. But such is the case with questions. And as he spoke, he offered some subtle insights into the type of leader he is. Some picked up on them. Some did not. Some may not have cared.

Most interesting to me was his willingness to attribute what some might consider as immature behaviors to passion for his profession. I’d heard this type of excuse for similar behaviors from a leader many years ago in an environment where wins and losses equated to life and death. Behind the mask of “passion,” this leader built a toxic team culture, the type you can’t forget. So, the coach’s message may have resonated with me more. Regardless, it got me thinking. What is passion?

The Oxford Dictionary defines passion as a “strong and barely controllable emotion” or “an intense desire or enthusiasm for something.” The Merriam-Webster similarly defines it as “a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept.” So, with these definitions in mind, it’s easy to see how a leader could be apt to excuse their “colorful” language, outbursts, or other less desirable behaviors for the sake of passion. But when they do, they’re missing the point. True passion is controllable, even if barely. True passion is enthusiastic and inspires the leader’s enthusiasm in others. It is not caustic and degrading. It does not instill fear or cause others to lose their enthusiasm.

So, leaders, be very careful to lose your cool or act out of character in the name of passion. When you do, you’re giving yourself an easy out rather than holding yourself accountable to the standards of high character that you’ve likely set for your team. Such actions will only erode trust between you and your team. The absence of trust will inevitably lead to an unhealthy team culture.

Truly passionate leaders take the opposite approach. Their passion fuels them to be the very best version of themselves for the good of their team. When they slip up or blow up, they acknowledge the mistake and refuse to let it become the norm. That’s true passion in action.

Misplaced Passion: A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing was originally published in Horizon Performance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.