The rest of the football game was a washout. The Seattle Seahawks won their first Super Bowl game by dominating the Denver Broncos, 43-8. They set a Super Bowl record for most playing time with 59 minutes and 48 seconds. The Seahawks looked comfortable and at ease the entire game. What an incredible performance by such a young team. The victory was particularly sweet for head coach Pete Carroll, who was fired in 1994 by the New York Jets, led the New England Patriots for three seasons and again was let go. He took over at the University of Southern California and won two national titles. Four years after taking charge in Seattle, Carroll was lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy in celebration.
The interviews after the game are what caught my attention. The sportscasters were talking about Pete Carroll’s “Always Compete” philosophy and kinder, gentler coaching style. His vision was to fundamentally change the way players are coached. He wanted to find out if he went to the NFL and really took care of the guys, really cared about each and every individual, what would happen? In my mind I am thinking the terms “kind” and “gentle” do not go with football. Football coaches are known for screaming and blowing up on the sidelines. I’m used to seeing coaches like Nick Saban yelling and pushing around the players when they mess up.
The Seahawks practice yoga as part of their mandated workouts. Carroll monitors their sleep patterns. In Seattle, there's an entire staff designed to look out for players. All Seahawks players are encouraged to use the support staff the way employees in the business world rely on a human resources department. Their sports psychologist, Mike Gervais, leads meditation sessions and instruct the players to "quiet your minds," "focus your attention inwardly" and "visualize success." Sounds like a spa for football players to me.
Carroll wanted to create an environment where people could “find their best, stay at their best, foster their best for the people around them so that everybody can join in." One of the things Carroll has learned is that he must find his own ways in which his messages will resonate with his players. He believes in love. He believes in redemption. He believes in finding the best in the people around him and challenging them to find it at all times. He treats them with respect.
Carroll has developed the culture and mindset of his team to adopt the philosophies of his own Win Forever doctrine. In Carroll's words, "what Win Forever means ... is aspiring to be the best you can be, or as I like to refer to it, ‘maximizing your potential.' But Winning Forever is not about the final score; it's about competing and striving to be the best. If you are in this pursuit, then you are already winning."
Carroll appeals to players’ strengths, opens their eyes to the possibilities and challenges them to reach their potential. When things settled down that Super Bowl Sunday night, Carroll was asked for an explanation of the belief structure he inhibits and passes on to his team. He said “Helping people be the best they can be, it does not matter what you are talking about. Football, or business, or families – the language and the intent and doing everything you can to help them. I can understand why that does resonate, and I’m very excited about that, because I know that the message goes beyond football.”
Pete Carroll’s leadership skills are a great example of what everyone could learn from to bring out the leader within them. Leadership success always starts out with a vision. Effective leadership is essential to any organization's success, but the qualities of a great leader are hard to define. Great leaders give much thought to what they are most passionate about. Those are the things they pursue, rather than money or prestige. A leader must create and communicate meaning for others by sharing a personal vision that is compelling and inspiring. Communication must be clear, honest, and personal. Ensure audiences truly hear the message you are trying to present. Carroll had a vision. He communicated and practiced that vision with his team to lead them to their first Super Bowl win.
Few organizations today have sufficient leadership. Leadership is needed from more and more people no matter where they are in hierarchy. We need to understand the difference between the terms “management” and “leadership”. Management produces products and services by following processes such as measuring performance, problem solving, and job structuring. Leadership is about finding opportunities and producing change. It’s about a vision and people buying into that vision to take an organization into the future. Management and leadership are both crucial to successfully reaching your goals, but there is a difference. Great leaders focus on building their organization through the people, structure, culture and technology.
Leadership is about behavior. How do leaders act? There are charismatic and built-to-last leaders. Many think of charismatic leaders when considering the behavior of a leader. Charismatic leaders are passionate, inspirational, highly motivated to lead and they powerfully articulate their vision. Built-to-last leaders are gentle, soft spoken, rather shy, unobtrusive and good listeners. Some leaders fall into both categories. Leaders come in all different personalities. Whether you are charismatic or built-to-last always strive to be your best. Always compete. Win forever.
I look forward to reading your comments and questions. I promise to respond in a timely manner.
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