Everyday Leadership Series (10) -leadership thinking behind the greatest coaching legends in football history.
Chuck Noll, Bill Belichick, Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs and Vince Lombardi are legends in the world of football. With a combined 25 Super Bowl appearances and 17 wins, these five men became world-famous, earned millions, and won awards.
But as you study each of these great leaders, you realize that the fame, money and accolades were all secondary in their pursuit of the NFL’s ultimate prize.
Here’s a look at the leadership thinking behind the greatest coaching legends in football history.
Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi being carried by Green Bay Packers players after defeating the Dallas Cowboys.
Bettmann | Getty Images
“Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.”
Takeaway: It’s easy to believe that people in positions of power were simply made for the job. They make it seem easy, even effortless. Like they were born to lead. What we never see, and what I wish we’d see more, was the process, the hard work, the effort and strain and sleepless nights and tears. Jay Z should talk less about champagne and more about the hard work of being a father. 50 Cent should talk less about getting shot and more about eating clean and working out two hours per day.
“Overnight success” rarely happens in a decade or less.
Chuck Noll
Head Coach Chuck Noll of the Pittsburgh Steelers watching the action from the sidelines during a mid circa 1970′s NFL football game at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Focus On Sport | Getty Images
“I’m really not a celebrity; I’m just a teacher.”
Takeaway: Good leaders realize they’re not special. They aren’t famous for the sake of being famous. They eschew the celebrity lifestyle in order to stay focused on their mission. As Vince Lombardi said, “Success demands singleness of purpose.”
A good leader is a coach, a teacher, a mentor, a counselor and a friend. They aren’t rock stars. They don’t demand attention. They don’t gloat and preen and rest on their laurels and brag about their past successes. They lead by serving, by doing, by going the extra mile.
Joe Gibbs
Former head coach Joe Gibbs of the Washington Redskins
Patrick Smith | Getty Images
“The key to being a good manager or a good entrepreneur is to pick the right people. Pick the right people, and they’ll make you look good.”
Takeaway: The greatest leaders are never those who accomplish a feat on their own.
Leaders lead: a team, a company, a group, an army, a nation. They attract other leaders. They develop a leadership culture.
Bill Walsh
Head coach Bill Walsh of the San Francisco 49ers
Focus On Sport | Getty Images
“Others follow you based on the quality of your actions rather than the magnitude of your declarations.”
Takeaway: Strong leadership is based on the example you set and the culture you create.
As Bill Walsh said: “The culture precedes positive results. It doesn’t get tacked on as an afterthought on your way to the victory stand. Champions behave like champions before they’re champions: They have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.”
Every leader calls their people to a standard of performance. For some, it’s lazy, full of shortcuts. For others, it’s domineering perfectionism or a growth-inspiring pursuit of a high-quality, achievable goal.
As Vince Lombardi said, “Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”
There’s a plague in the National Football League and everybody knows it. Coaches, fans and players recognize that few NFL teams win the Super Bowl back to back. Only eight teams have done it, with the Seahawks striving to become the ninth. This is because of a mental deficiency (called success disease) that makes individuals and teams think that once they reach the top, they don’t need to improve any more.
On the other hand, a team that fights for every victory has a winning team culture. For the legendary Bill Walsh, it was the major goal and challenge of his career. “The toughest thing I ever had to do,” he explains, “was get my team to overcome success disease.”
Bill Belichick, New England Patriots
Lesson:
Praise team players and retrain the ones whose individualism hinders overall goals.
The team mostly likely to win on any given Sunday is one that is best prepared, well conditioned and most cohesive. With his tactical focus and emphasis on team, Coach Belichick demands a high standard. “For a team to accomplish their goal,” he said, “everybody’s got to give up a little bit of their individuality.”
Under Belichick’s leadership, team players are the examples to follow, even if they are not those with the best records. A little individualism is good, until it gets in the way. Then, people must be retrained to think and act in the best interest of the team.
Tom Landry, Dallas Cowboys
Lesson:
You don’t lead the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowls and 20 back-to-back winning seasons without making a habit of doing exactly what you don’t want to do.
Tom Landry recognized the importance of this virtue, and he defined leadership as being able to get others to do the same. He said, “Leadership is getting someone to do what they don’t want to do [so they can] achieve what they want to achieve.”
Ask most middle schoolers if they want to do calisthenics every day, and they’ll look at you like you have three heads. Ask the same kids if they’d like to be record-setting Olympians, and the response will be quite different. Making the connection that today’s behaviors lead to making (or missing) tomorrow’s goals is crucial to effective leadership.
Just like the best football teams, you have worked hard to get where you are. But only one team gets to wear the Super Bowl ring each year.
Make the connection between today’s behaviors and tomorrow’s goals.
You don’t lead the Dallas Cowboys to two Super Bowls and 20 back-to-back winning seasons without making a habit of doing exactly what you don’t want to do.
Tom Landry recognized the importance of this virtue, and he defined leadership as being able to get others to do the same. He said, “Leadership is getting someone to do what they don’t want to do [so they can] achieve what they want to achieve.”
Ask most middle schoolers if they want to do calisthenics every day, and they’ll look at you like you have three heads. Ask the same kids if they’d like to be record-setting Olympians, and the response will be quite different. Making the connection that today’s behaviors lead to making (or missing) tomorrow’s goals is crucial to effective leadership.
Just like the best football teams, you have worked hard to get where you are. But only one team gets to wear the Super Bowl ring each year.
Notice a theme?
“Concentrate on what will produce results rather than on the results, the process rather than the prize,” said Bill Walsh.
If there’s a word that sticks out with all of these coaches, it’s process. Joe Gibbs once said that “a winning effort begins with preparation.” Chuck Noll added, “If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does them day in and day out.”
Winning, for these five men, was a product of process. Winning is a secondary validation — the outer affirmation of the inner effort.
Leaders keep their head down.They do the work.They win.
Thanks for reading my blog.
Dr. Deepak A. Patil
CEO, Lead ThySelf
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