Teddys Leadership Lessons

Teddy Pendergrass was born on March 26, 1950 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Between 1977 and 1982 he released five consecutive platinum albums until a terrible accident in 1982 derailed but did not end his career. His most successful song by far is Love TKO, which hit #2 on Billboard’s R&B chart and #44 on their top 100. Love TKO was written by keyboard player Eddie Gip Noble and Cecil Womack and is about how love can beat you down but doesn’t stop you from getting up and trying again. Writer Eddie Noble said, "I had just left a relationship when I wrote it so I could relate to the idea of a 'technical knock-out." Love TKO was originally recorded by first time recording artist, David Oliver, in early 1980 then re-recorded by Teddy Pendergrass in November 1980. 

Lookin' back over my years

I guessed, I've shed some tears

Told myself time and time again

This time I'm gonna win

But another fight, things ain't right

I'm losin' again

Takes a fool to lose twice

And start all over again...

...Takin' the bumps and the bruises

Of all the things of a two-time loser

Tryin' to hold on, faith is gone

It's just another sad song

Leadership is a lot like the song Love TKO, getting knocked down, getting up, getting bruised, getting up, disappointment, getting up. Leadership comes with its losses and tears too, but if you stick with it and learn from your losses, eventually you’ll get it and win. It takes courage, resilience, and thick skin. If you have it, you can recover from your losses, learn from them, and try again without resentment. Those of us who have done anything for a long period of time, not just work, know that everything gets difficult. Friendships get tested, motivation to exercise wanes, time to sit and read gets shorter, no matter what you do there will be challenges. It's the people who can stay with their commitments who see the benefits. Leadership is no different. 

Whether it’s love, politics or work, you have to put yourself out there, open to criticism, frustration, and heartbreak. Some people make it look easy, but it isn’t, even for the most talented. Keep this in mind, looking over the fence and comparing your experience to someone you think is “killing it” is a recipe for disappointment in your journey. That person is struggling just like you. Their struggle may not be the same as yours but they do have theirs. Beware of your concern for the opinion of critics on the outside pointing out your every mistake as they see it. Worrying about what outsiders think will always lead to disaster. Because we are human, we will always make mistakes, because critics are critics, they will always point mistakes out. I lean into the expression, “haters gonna hate”. In a conversation with a friend, I reminded him that ‘dogs bark’. Would you ever get mad at a dog barking? No, because that’s what they do. You shouldn’t get any more angry at a critic than you would at a dog for barking. 

On April 23, 1910, 70 years before the release of Love TKO, another Teddy, Roosevelt, said, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Very similar to Love TKO, the person who puts him or herself out there in the arena will stumble, come up short, be criticized, take direct shots, but dust themself off, try again, fail, try again. That is the person who will in the end know the triumph of achievement and gain the lessons that come with the effort. You grow by being in the arena. There is no easy way to successful leadership. You have to take blows and move forward. Teddy P, and Teddy Roosevelt knew it, now it's on us to apply it. There are more benefits to great leadership than ego satisfaction, or helping others succeed, it's also good for the leader. 

In 1967, Michael Marmot, Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, led a 10-year study named after the area of London where the studies were conducted, Whitehall. The Whitehall Study would examine over 17,500 male civil servants between 20 and 64 over 10 years. Marmot and his team were studying the social determinants of health, specifically the cardiovascular disease prevalence and mortality rates among British civil servants. What they found was a direct correlation between levels of position and mortality. Essentially, if you were on the lower end of the pecking order you were more likely to live a less healthy, shorter life. These results have since been referred to as “status syndrome”. In 1988, Whitehall II began with 10,308 women and men. That study, which continues to this day, is yielding similar results. A longer, healthier life is tied to control of your environment. 

The Whitehall study continues to encourage us to follow the advice of Teddy R, and Teddy P and keep plowing forward. I’ll say it again, everything gets hard. To that I respond with one final quote, one from Winnie the Pooh, “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you know.” With that wind in your sail, I encourage you to let it all hang out and SOAR! 

William A. Brown

November 21, 2020