Continuum Performance

BE ABOUT IT

Character. Leadership
Eric Belliveau • Feb 13, 2016

I know almost all of you watched the Super Bowl on Sunday. Most of you for the game itself, maybe some to watch the commercials, and most to get together with friends and eat awesome greasy food. One thing I bet most of you did not watch is the post-game press conferences for both the winning and losing team. In this case the post-game press conference I want to reference came from the NFL MVP Cam Newton. Cam Newton has been exuberant and charismatic all season long as his team put together a 15-1 regular season and cruised into the Super Bowl game with two more easy wins. The post-game press conference after the Super Bowl showed a much different Cam Newton. He showed up with a hoody on (hood up), instead of his usual flashy garb, and was short with reporters until he eventually cut the conference short and walked off the stage.

Now, I am not trying to judge or tell you anything about Cam Newton the person or athlete, in fact I don’t really care at all, he has zero effect on my life or any of ours. However it is a great example to use when talking about leadership and character. Is this how a leader of a team should act when things go wrong?

This brings me to my point. It’s easy to be a leader when things are going well. It’s easy to show good character when everything is going the way you want it to. True leadership is being there and leading when things aren’t going your way, when everything looks lost. That is when a leader will step up. Character is no different, how a person deals with winning and losing reveals their true character.

All of us can learn from this, whether you are a parent, an athlete, a coach, a supervisor, or a business owner. A true leader shows his best character when times get the toughest. A person of high character will not make excuses for failures and mistakes. A leader is unselfish and does not draw attention to themselves, especially at the expense of others. He/she is respected, and counted on by his teammates.

Cam Newton is a good example, when things are going well; elaborate touchdown dances, taunting and showboating seem to be the norm. When things go bad like the Super Bowl, pouting, blame and walking out on his press conference. Is wearing custom gold cleats with the letters MVP a way of putting your team first, or is it a way of attracting attention and putting yourself above the team. How would Tom Brady react differently, or Derek Jeter? Let’s talk about Peyton Manning for a second. Two years ago his team was on the losing side of the most lopsided game in Super Bowl history (watch his post-game press conference). Flash forward two years…Super Bowl champions. No, he certainly does not have the athletic talent he did two years ago, and may be the worst statistical quarterback in the league, but that right there should tell you a lot about Peyton Manning’s character and his ability to lead. When the game was over and the press wanted to make the game about Peyton Manning’s retirement, he respectfully put the attention back on his teammates and coaches. Peyton Manning the leader, not the quarterback led the Denver Broncos to the victory. If that’s not enough to convince you read this ( http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14738278/peyton-manning-path-super-bowl-goes-practice-squad ) or this ( http://sports.yahoo.com/news/peyton-manning-leaves-crushing-super-bowl-loss-with-reputation-intact-065205260.html ).

Again, my purpose of this is not to bash Cam Newton or praise Peyton Manning. I am writing this to lay out what true leadership and having great character really looks like. It is not always about talent or even being the most liked. It is about being someone your teammates look up to and being that person your team depends on to carry them no matter the highs and lows. Are you a Cam Newton or a Peyton Manning??

The Meat Hangover

By Eric Belliveau • 07 Oct, 2020
When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We're Trying

By Eric Belliveau • 23 Sep, 2020
We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.

The Meat Hangover

By Eric Belliveau • 07 Oct, 2020
When it comes to taking meat out of your diet, some people have the idea that they will only see positive changes immediately following this choice. While those positive changes are definitely part of the deal, so is an adjustment period for your body.

We're Trying

By Eric Belliveau • 23 Sep, 2020
We were all thrown on this crazy ride together. Emotions were running high but so were patience, empathy, inclusion, and respect. Most of us could rally behind the #WeAreInThisTogether manta. We wanted to do right by each other - donate to charities, lend a hand, check-in on one another. Do our part. As the days turn to weeks and the weeks into months these dispositions decayed rapidly. I know that this Quarantine order has been going on for a long time. I know that a great number of us do not agree on the why. I know an even greater number of us are “over it”. I am painfully aware of the difference of opinions surrounding the pandemic. It is impossible to NOT be aware of this. This leads us all to frustration, anger, resentment, and the feeling that you are not being heard. Very real and very human emotions! It is okay to feel this way. I am not only writing this from the perspective of a fellow struggling human. I do find myself struggling with everything I mentioned above. Not just daily but multiple times a day. My ability to focus has been challenged by my worry. My ability to create time for myself and focus on self-care has been derailed for fear of other things becoming more pressing. I work on this every day. I am not only writing this from the perspective of one of the business owners who were never given a playbook for this. For weeks on end I thought WTF happened to the business and how would our model need to change and remain viable, how each business owner had to either weather a period in which we were completely shut down or allowed to operate under capacity restrictions, etc. The unknown of what the timeline would bring and whether we would be able to continue our dreams or make an extremely difficult decision of not continuing. This still haunts every one of us daily. I AM very much writing this as a service provider! I am writing this as an impassioned human who genuinely loves what I do for a living. I feel incredibly lucky to be able to have built a career surrounding something I get excited about every day. I am making a stand for all of us that make their living in the service industry. To the receptionist, hostess, waiter, cook, dry cleaner, teacher, technician, barista, utility worker, automobile service technician… It is truly impossible to be inclusive of everyone here.  No one human mentioned above asked for this ‘situation’ we are in. We are sure as hell trying to provide a level of normalcy, service, care, and happiness to the lives in which we choose to serve. With added restrictions, added expense decreased capacity and the fear of being fined or shut down for doing it incorrectly, everyday.
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