This was the weekend many around America sat around the television and watched football. Whether they like the sport, watched a game all season, or even care about the results they watch the Super Bowl. Maybe they want to see the commercials and eat junk food with friends, and this is a great way to do it. 
This Super Sunday I went to my bookshelf and the leadership lessons from five Super Bowl winning coaches over the past five decades. (The books are listed at the end of this post if you are curious.) While I revisited my notes, three guiding leadership concepts were consistent among each of these coaches that can help all leaders.
Clear Philosophy
The late Bill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers called it his “standard of performance” and Pete Carroll describes it as his “win forever” philosophy. Each of the other coaches may not have a formal structure, but they all were crystal clear of what they expected of themselves and those they led.
“You won’t be a successful leader if you don’t have a clear of what you believe, where you’re headed, and what you are willing to go to the mat for.” Don Shula
As the leader we must be crystal clear on what we expect. The hardest person to lead is ourselves therefore we must know what we expect of ourselves? Are we clear on that? As our values and vision are clear we can more clearly articulate them to those we lead.
Culture
“The culture you create permeates everything you touch.”
Tony Dungy
Leadership and culture. This is kind of a chicken and egg question. The leader influences culture, but the culture can eat the leader for lunch. Both Bill Walsh and Tony Dungy spoke to this idea of culture. As the leader of a team each knew the culture they created would impact every result and their players had both on and off the field.
When the philosophy and expectations are clear this establishes the groundwork for creating a specific culture. When these are unclear a potentially chaotic or toxic culture may be created. As leaders we either intentionally create a culture or it develops naturally out of how we lead.
“The culture precedes positive results . . . Champions behave like champions before their champions; they have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.”
Bill Walsh
Be A Teacher
Former Super Bowl champion coach of the New York Giants Bill Parcells said “be a teacher, not a drill sergeant,” but what does it mean? The same as all five of these coaches have said . . . teach. The legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden saw himself as a teacher above all else. As leaders we may see where we want to go and what we want done clearly. We may even see how to do it, but we must slow down, come alongside those we lead, and teach them.
“Be a teacher, not a drill sergeant.”
Bill Parcells
Ken Blanchard in his book Everyone’s A Coach with Don Shula provides some practical steps on how to be a teacher as a leader.
- Tell people what you want them to do.
- Show them what good performance looks like.
- Let them do it.
- Observe their performance.
- Praise progress and/or redirect.
These are easy to read, but in order to implement them we must slow down, connect with those we lead and patiently walk the path with them. Eventually we end up multiplying our leadership and instead of developing followers we multiply leaders.
Winning a Super Bowl is not easy nor is leading any organization or team to top performance. As you look at these three areas, how can you improve in your leadership? Do you need a thinking partner to help you think into any of these areas? Contact me to explore a complimentary thinking partner session to help you raise your leadership level and improve your results. Lead Well.
© 2020 Wheeler Coaching, All Rights Reserved
Ken Blanchard & Don Shula Everyone’s A Coach
Bill Walsh The Score Takes Care of Itself
Pete Carroll Win Forever
Bill Parcells Finding a Way to Win
Tony Dungy The Mentor Leader
*Each of the above are affiliate links.