January 23, 2005
Lombardi Time Draft II
Time Management: Lessons Learned
I was fifteen when I began volunteering at the Durham Lakewood YMCA with the Leaders Club. A club for teens, the Leaders Club was a place to grow-up under the guidance of old fashion principles and values. We were a Club of teens, eager to be adults. We exceeded YMCA staff expectations, rose above our responsibilities and faced challenges together. We were happy to work long hours and enjoyed the distinction between ourselves and the other YMCA teenagers. It was as a Leader at Blue Ridge Leaders School (BRLS) when I first learned of Lombardi Time.
Each August, as a reward for our efforts, the YMCA sent every qualified Leader to BRLS. Its mission was to build self-esteem, foster leadership, and strengthen values. At Leaders School, we developed characteristics like respectfulness, a sense of honor, and an ability to lead. We admired our instructors, who continually held us to higher and then higher standards in order to encourage us to rise and meet the challenge. The BRLS staff embraced the legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi’s winning strategies and incorporated them in our teachings at BRLS.
Lombardi Time
Among the many Lombardi strategies is Lombardi Time. To be on Lombardi Time, you should be 15 minuets early for everything. If you show up on time for your 8:00 meeting, according to Lombardi Time, you are late. Some might consider this extra fifteen minutes wasted. However, the idea behind this strategy is to use the extra time to catch your breath and prepare for the next task. In Lombardi Time, being late is not an option. If you are late, you are disrespectful to the coach, the team, and yourself.
As participants at BRLS, some of us felt it was unfair to expect such a high level of protocol, especially when you only have 15 minuets to get from soccer, at the bottom of the mountain, to volleyball, at the top of the mountain. However, our respect for our instructors and the satisfaction of successfully completing a challenge motivated us to walk a little faster up the mountain.
After six years of BRLS, Lombardi Time became apart of my personality. This is not to say that for everything I do, I am 15 minutes early. I am only human, and lateness certainly has its place among my many faults. However, you can rest assured that when I am late, there is a voice in the back of my mind reminding me of Lombardi Time and encouraging me to walk faster up the mountain.
Professionalism and Lombardi Time
Lombardi Time is a strategy applicable to all aspects of life and used in numerous time management courses for students and professionals. Professionally, it is essential that we not only arrive on time, but also come prepared for whatever the task might be. In our personal lives, it is also important to demonstrate our respect for our friends and family by not keeping them waiting.
Fashionably late is a version of lateness applicable only to parties where your presence is not necessary to begin the festivities. In our global environment, it is important to acknowledge that there are cultural differences regarding lateness. Embracing these differences includes accepting and practicing a cultures attitude towards time. Professionally in the United States, if you are late you are disrespectful to your boss, your colleagues, and yourself.
First impressions are important professionally and personally and the way we manage our time says lot about the type of person we are. We have all endured the awkward glances of others as we waited in meetings for a late colleague to appear. We have all felt disrespected and embarrassment on the late parties behalf. Lateness signifies disorder and confusion. You can discover a lot about a person by watching how they arrive to a meeting. I am glad that someone took the trouble to explaining Lombardi Time to me at an early age.
Posted by arosenst at 10:20 AM | Comments (4)