In 1997, I wrote a leadership article in the Des Moines Business Record in honor of Ron Schipper, who was retiring from Central College after coaching football for 36 years. Coach Schipper died unexpectedly March 26 from a heart attack.

In order to write the first article, I interviewed and surveyed about 100 former players, coaches, and friends. This was before the use of e-mail surveys, yet their response was overwhelming. The stories of life lessons they learned from Coach Schipper were inspiring. I gave him the originals but made copies for myself with the idea that someday I might write a book about him.

In the past six years, I have interviewed a Who’s Who list of more than 40 leadership sages, including Warren Bennis, Jim Autry, Peter Senge, Parker Palmer and Margaret Wheatley, to name a few. From this research, I created a holistic model of leadership. The characteristics in the model, which include self-insight, vision, passion, wisdom, mentoring, learning, courage, citizenship, spirituality and creativity, are not new.

But realizing they are all interconnected, that it all starts with knowing your strengths and weaknesses and being willing to improve, and that each characteristic is viewed through the lens of authenticity is a new and complete way of viewing leadership.

Because Coach Schipper was a sage, the world is a little less caring, a little less generous, a little less supportive, a little less passionate, and less wise now that he’s gone.

It strikes me that Coach Schipper instinctively practiced this holistic model of leadership his whole life. It may sound easy, but his kind of leadership — the kind that most of the leadership sages are advocating — is hard to practice and rare for most people. It takes courage to be the kind of leader who wants to serve by caring about how people feel in the workplace. Leaders need to remove obstacles for people and not be the obstacle. This may sound like common sense, but common sense is not so common.

Holistic leaders know themselves, know their boundaries, know their gifts and are generous. They focus on being human beings more than on their human doings.

For years to come, thousands of people will tell stories that reflect how Coach Schipper embodied these characteristics. As coach Rick Coles of Lawrence University in Wisconsin said at the time of Schipper’s retirement, “Some have called him the Joe Paterno or Tom Osborne of Division III. I disagree. Joe Paterno and Tom Osborne are the Ron Schippers of Division I.”

Because books on coaches and leadership are so popular, I just might write the book. Coach Schipper lived a story worth reading.

Jann Freed holds the Mark and Kay De Cook Endowed Chair in Leadership and Character Development at Central College in Pella.