Leadership

Moral Pupose:

Lance Armstrong set out with the goal of being the premier professional cyclist of his time, and winning the Tour de France was the way he decided to achieve that goal.  Lance paralleled this initial goal with the newly identified goal of trying to raise money to find a cure for cancer.  The goal to find a cure is one that was personal to him because of his adversity, but is truly about achieving Fullan’s moral purpose by helping others (2001).  This is done by raising money using his success as a cyclist and a cancer survivor to rally support for the cause.

The Change Process:

Lance’s initial goal required a “herculean commitment” and effort to win a single Tour de France, let alone to win seven straight (Zimmerman, 2005).  Lance epitomized the work ethic that we teach children, work hard, stay positive, try your best, do not make excuses.  Cycling on the roads, Lance and his team strategized and adapted to various adversities in the form of opponents.  The team developed strategies but would have to adapt to the circumstances presented and continued to persevere to succeed.  Fullan suggested that leaders must know when change is necessary and be able to change (2001).  Lance’s success was largely due to the success of his teammates and their adaptations to adversities (Lance’s Bio, 2011).

Building Relationships:

This was effective for Lance when it was necessary to build a strong team to support his initial goal and was crucial in developing the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  His work ethic and attitude made it easy for people to buy into his ideals and become part of the Lance Armstrong team.  The Lance Armstrong foundation was easy to support because people appreciated Lance’s work ethic and were more than willing to support such a noble cause.  The cause could have a huge impact on the health in society and was supported by diverse groups, as suggested by Fullan (2001).

Coherence:

The Lance Armstrong Foundation has experienced great success because people were able to relate to the struggles that Lance Armstrong faced.  Those who were experiencing similar adversities to Lance were more than willing to rally to support for Lance in the pursuit towards a cure for cancer.  Fullan suggests that “Effective leaders guide people through differences and enables people to surface while creating coherence” (Fullan, 2001).

Knowledge:

Success on the roads required training and evaluation of the courses that helped Lance and his team understand where their strengths would prevail in the mountain stages of the Tour de France.  His Foundation needed to understand the overwhelming demands of cancer research and how the money raised would generate more donations and how it would best benefit the cure for cancer.  This supports Fullan’s belief that leaders and their organizations must continue to grow and learn what will help them, both inside and outside the organization (2001).

References:

Fullan, Michael (2001). Learning to Lead Change: Building System Capacity. Retrieved from http://www.michaelfullan.ca/resource_assets/ms_annotations/fullan1.htm

Zimmerman, J, Armstrong and the Price of Winning, Philadelphia Enquirer, August 2^nd, 2005

Bandes, J.,  LIVE STRONG;THEIR BANDS OF COURAGE, Clearwater Times, January 25^th, 2004 Pg. 1

Lance’s Bio. (Feb 2011). Retrieved from http://www.lancearmstrong.com/

Lance's Story (Feb 2011) Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.org/Who-We-Are/Our-History/Lance-s-Story