If you’re a sports fan, you’ve probably heard the recent news about University of Georgia football coach, Mark Richt. Apparently, Richt violated NCAA policies by paying his staff members out of his own pocket because he felt they weren’t fairly paid. Randy Chambers, with BleacherReport.com, reports that Richt and his wife have 2 checking accounts. The first is for their own needs, and the other has become known as “the giving account.” This account was used to help his staff members when they were in need.
For example, Richt personally paid an assistant coach’s 5-year bonus of $15,000 because the university refused to pay. The coach had taken another job just shy of the actual 5-year date, but Richt did the right thing and paid the bonus. According to multiple reports, Richt used over $25,000 of his personal money to compensate his staff.
While the NCAA may need to “punish” him for breaking a rule, don’t you want to work for someone like Mark Richt? He literally put his money where his mouth is to show his staff that they had value to him. That is a sign of great leadership.
I can remember attending Catalyst a few years ago and hearing John Maxwell speak on “Adding Value to People.” The main point of his message was, “If we don’t value people, we will devalue people.” Maxwell gave these 4 points on how to add value to people:
- Value People
- Make Yourself More Valuable
- Know and Relate to What Other People Value
- Do the Things God Values
Here is his talk from Catalyst:
