September, 2013 | Coach Pat Sullivan

30 Sep

2 Quarterbacks, 2 Leadership Styles

Wes Welker had an interesting interview on ESPN.

Welker, one of the NFL’s top wide receivers in recent years, has been in the spotlight a bit lately because of the terrific start by his new team, the Denver Broncos.

During the interview I saw, he had three insights into leadership – one on his career and two from two prolific quarterbacks he has caught passes from. He has the distinct perspective of being a receiver for two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history – Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

His first insight was on his career. As an undrafted rookie free agent in 2004 (and cut by the San Diego Chargers after one game), it wasn’t until his fourth season in the league that he got the opportunity to start. The ESPN interviewer asked him how he became such a force in the NFL when he was not even drafted coming out of Texas Tech. His answer was he only got into the NFL because of special teams and because of his attitude.

He was always determined to be the toughest player on the field. Despite his very small physical stature compared to other NFL players, he could compete because of his toughness.

Leadership is tough and leaders have to develop tough-mindedness because they will inevitably have numerous critics.

When asked to compare Brady and Manning, he said each leads with different leadership traits. Brady, he said, is a passionate leader, whereas Manning is a steady leadership voice. These are two different ways of leading – at first glance – but both effective.

I think great leaders combine both traits and I also believe Brady’s passionate style is as effective as Manning’s passion about preparation and execution.
Leaders have to be tough, passionate in their beliefs, and steady in their daily habits. It also helps to have the toughness for which Welker himself has become admired.

20 Sep

Are Good Leaders More Demanding or More Compassionate?

A recent blog article in the Harvard Business Review got my attention. It was entitled, “Nice or Tough: Which Approach Engages Employees the Most?”

More than 160,000 employees were surveyed to ascertain whether leaders who were “drivers” or “enhancers” were the most effective.

Their conclusion was something most athletic coaches do on a regular basis. They concluded the “or” in their question was the wrong word – that it should be supplanted by “and.”

The best leaders in business did both – they drove and they enhanced.

We have known and continue to know in coaching that you have to demand. Competition is tough; opponents are tough; and coaches have to be demanding to make their athletes game-ready.

Think of the best teacher or coach you ever had…… Was he or she easy or demanding? When I ask that question in a presentation, and ask the audience to raise their hands on easy or demanding, the result has always been unanimous. To a person, everyone agrees that the best teacher or coach they ever had was demanding.

We also know in coaching that you have to care about your athletes beyond the narrow confines of an athletic arena if you want to get the best they have to give. You don’t fool the athletes. They know which coaches genuinely care about their welfare and which don’t.

Great coaches do both. They demand and they care.

12 Sep

When “I” Becomes “We”

A story that circulated in Chicago during the Bulls Jordan era was very insightful for leaders.

Tex Winter, a Bulls assistant coach, reminded Michael Jordan that there is no “I” in “TEAM.” Jordan’s retort was that there is an “I” in “WIN!”

The irony of that exchange is that they both are right. The best “I’s” – the “I’s” being the leaders – have the ability to turn “I” to “we.”

In the first of Jordan’s six NBA championships the Bulls had to beat Magic Johnson’s Lakers in the final round. As a 34-year college basketball coach at the time, I was at the first game and watched Jordan score 37 points, only to have the Bulls lose 93-91. They had to play the very next day and as I drove to the Chicago Stadium, I wondered how Jordan would approach the game.

Jordan, the “I”, the leader, I believed, could have scored 50 points against the Lakers. Instead, he began the game by taking only one shot in the entire first quarter.

He knew the “I” – as great as that “I” was – could not beat the Lakers by himself. He had to involve all his teammates. He had to turn the “I” to we. The Bulls won that second game 107-86 and went on to win the next three in a row in their run to the championship.

The attitude of the leader does make a difference and the great “I’s” have the ability to turn their “I” into an organizational’ “we”….just as Jordan did.

05 Sep

4 Things Great Leaders Have in Common with Great Teachers

Mark Twain once wrote, “I didn’t attend the funeral but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.”

It does not have to be that way for a leader at the end.

I believe great leaders do the same four things that great teachers and coaches do:

They know their subject matter, be it algebra, football, or a particular business. This knowledge automatically earns them the respect of the people they are leading.
They can disseminate their knowledge. We all know of the brilliant professor who cannot bring his knowledge to our level. His brilliance is never questioned, but he cannot simplify his knowledge so we can learn.
They teach, coach, and lead with enthusiasm. They are enthused when we take their knowledge and succeed in history, basketball, or business.
By far, their most important characteristic is that they care about the people in their charge beyond the narrow confines of a classroom, a baseball field, or a work place. Amos Alonzo Stagg, the football coach at the University of Chicago when they were in the Big Ten Conference, was a perfect example of this trait. His degree was in divinity but he felt he could minister to America’s youth better from a football field than a pulpit.

Combined, these four traits help create enthusiastic followers and enduring respect for a leader. Despite Twain’s sentiment, people do want to attend the funeral of a leader who cared about them.

-Pat