The ability to acquire, develop and empower next generation leaders is critical to your church, business, athletic or non-profit’s long-term success. Quality next generation leaders keep your organization green and growing.
One of the best next generation leaders in any profession is the 32-year-old offensive coordinator of the Oklahoma Sooners, Lincoln Riley. Considered a mere baby in the coaching profession, Riley actually has over a decade’s worth of development and is one of the primary reasons many are picking the Sooners to win this year’s college football championship. He is often praised for his innovative approach and Air Raid offense.
In the December 28th edition of USA Today, write George Schroeder profiled Riley and why he is so accomplished at such a young age. The lessons learned from the article will help you create a checklist of what you should be looking for as you hire top young talent this next year.
The following is What A Highly Successful 2016 Next Generation Leader Looks Like from content gleaned from Schroeder’s article:
- Many Next Generation Leaders Never Despise Small Beginnings – Small beginnings and anonymity are where future public success is born. Just five years after graduating from Muleshoe High School in West Texas, Riley took time to help his former team on the intricacies and installation of the Air Raid Offense learned under former boss, Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach. The high school team’s head coach David Wood said, “We were just coaching him a few years earlier. But he always had something special about him.”
- Next Generation Leaders Are Committed To Paying The Price Needed For Future Success – When Riley did not make the Texas Tech team as a walk-on quarterback, he became a student assistant. This job included everything from getting meals to breaking down film. In essence, he was Coach Leach’s personal assistant. Riley picked things up so fast he became Leach’s sounding board.
- Next Generation Leaders Need People Who Will Believe In Them – All young leaders need “sponsors”, people who will champion their cause. Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops hired the then 31-year-old Riley after receiving a recommendation from Leach. Leach said, “Lincoln wasn’t on his radar. I specifically told him Lincoln was the one he needed to hire.”
- Next Generation Leaders Can Transform Your Organization – After Leach was fired at Texas Tech, Riley moved to East Carolina where in his five years as offense coordinator, the team produced the five best statistical offensive years in the school’s history. Once at Oklahoma, Stoops noted, “Lincoln has really transformed our offense.”
- You Must Go Looking For Next Generation Leaders – They are most likely not going to land on your doorstep. Stoops had traditionally hired from within. In his 17 years as a head coach, this was the first time he looked outside the organization for an offensive coordinator.
- Next Generation Leaders Bring Innovation To Your Organization – Stoops said, “The quality of quarterbacks, the innovation of offense in our league is second to none.”
- Next Generation Leaders Will Work Hard – Not all 20-somethings are lazy and entitled. Riley grew up working in the family’s cotton warehousing company.
- Next Generation Leaders Are Smart – Riley has a near photographic memory. Coach Wood recognized this at a young age. He said, “We’d turn around and he was explaining the same things to the (other) kids after hearing it one time. He just has a remarkable memory about that stuff.”
- Next Generation Leaders Will Challenge The Status Quo – While at Texas Tech in his mid-20s, the young assistant coach was not afraid to challenge the older coaches. Leach said, “He would tell older coaches stuff they didn’t want to hear. Sometimes you can get into a herd mentality. But I knew he wasn’t afraid to command the room even at a young age.”
- Next Generation Leaders Need A System To Be Successful – Stoops said, “I believe in the (Air Raid) system. We had great success in it not just in 2000 (when Leach was the OC and they won the national championship), but for a lot of years.”
- Next Generation Leaders Can Deliver Superior Results – This season Oklahoma has averaged 45.8 points per game, third in the nation.
- Next Generation Leaders Make Others Better – In the last seven games, the team has averaged more than 300 yards rushing and quarterback Baker Mayfield has also completed 70% of his passes. In fact, Mayfield has been so productive he finished 4th in the Heisman Trophy voting.
- Next Generation Leaders Are Humble – Humility is one of the most attractive qualities any leader can have, regardless of their age. Riley said, “When you win, everybody wants you to write a book. When you lose, they question if you can read one.”
- Next Generation Leaders Operate Best In A Team Environment – Riley continued, “They (the offense) bought in from the beginning and the rest is history.”
- Next Generation Leaders Will Be All-In – When helping his high school coach install his new offense, Riley said, “You can’t mix and match this offense. You can’t do part-time this and part-time that. We decided to go all in…concepts. drills. plays. everything.”
- Next Generation Leaders Can Leave A Lasting Impact – Two seasons after meeting with Riley, Muleshoe won its first state football championship. This was not a one-time event. The team is now a perennial play-off participant. This year, the team averaged 520 yards per game.
The question is will Oklahoma now win its first championship since 2000 with Riley running the offense? Many experts think they will.
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