Are leaders born or made? This is of the most frequently asked questions regarding the subject of leadership. Recently I read an article from The Athletic entitled The rise of Chiefs GM Brett Veach, the man behind Patrick Mahomes by Ross Tucker.
Tucker has known Veach since childhood and has a unique perspective in how the Super Bowl winning general manager’s leadership was molded and how he reached his current level of success. I felt his insights provide a template into what is required to becoming a successful leader.
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So How Do You Make A Leader? The following are 9 Lessons From Kansas City Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach we learn from Tucker’s article:
- Leaders Are Often Developed In Obscurity – Much like biblical heroes David, Joshua, and Moses, Veach grew away from the crowds. Veach was raised in the Coal Region of Central Pennsylvania.
- Leaders Are Developed In Environments Of Struggle – In addition to being a place where hard work is the norm, the Coal Region began to experience extremely difficult financial times. Of course, this subsequently placed an increased scrutiny and level of importance on the local high school football teams.
- Leaders Are Often Made In Cultures Of Success – In Central Pennsylvania, Mt. Carmel High School is a legendary football powerhouse. Veach starred on two of its state championship teams as a sophomore in 1994 and again as a senior in 1996.
- Leaders Are Made By Who They Surround Themselves With – John Maxwell’s The Law Of The Inner Circle teaches is that a leader’s success is most determined by those closest to the leader. It is also often said you are the sum total of your five closest friends. While playing college football at Delaware, Veach became friends with Matt Nagy. Nagy would eventually go on to become Head Coach Andy Reid’s offensive coordinator with the Kansas City Chiefs and then head coach of the Chicago Bears.
- Leaders Are Made By Building Mutually-Beneficial Relationships – There are no self-made leaders. Everyone needs help on the way up and then they need a great team around them to remain successful. These leaders understand the importance of building bridges rather than burning them. After college, Veach connected with then-Eagles head coach Reid through a network of multiple connections he had built. Veach would eventually become Reid’s personal assistant.
- Leaders Are Made In The Crucible Of Hard Work – You become a leader by grinding. The lessons about hard work Veach learned in a coal mine town would go on to pay huge dividends as he began to move up in the scouting ranks.
- Leaders Then Discover Other Leaders Who Are Developing In Obscurity – This is reference back to Point #1. The Chiefs scouting department had a group of prospects listed as “statistical outliers”. It was from this list that in 2015 Veach began studying tape of a raw Texas Tech quarterback named Patrick Mahomes.
- Leaders Are Willing To Do Things Other People Are Not – Veach told the Ross Tucker Football Podcast, “I want to say there wasn’t anybody in the building that weekend, and I remember coach (Andy Reid) stopped by my office and we had a casual conversation, he just wanted to know what I was doing.” It was then he began telling Coach Reid about Mahomes. What I want the readers to notice is he was there on the weekend alone. Everyone else was on vacation or at home. Once again, leaders are developed in obscurity, when no one else is watching.
- Leaders Are Ultimately Judged On Results – Results are the validation of your leadership. It is what determines if you should continue to be trusted or followed. Veach was relentless in his desire to see the Chiefs draft Mahomes. Veach said, “When you’ve been around football your whole life and you know how great all these players are in the NFL, you almost take it for granted that you are around the best players in the world and how good they are. And then all of a sudden, this kid comes in and he makes these other unbelievably gifted players look average. When you see that, you know you are seeing something special.” Veach banged on the table for Mahomes and he was validated by helping deliver Reid his first Super Bowl victory as a head coach and team’s first Super Bowl trophy in 50 years.
Just to recap… All leaders are born, obviously, but how are they made?
In obscurity, in struggle, in a culture of success, by whom you surround yourselves with, by your network, by working hard, by making other leaders, by doing things others are unwilling to do, and by delivering results. This is how leaders are made.
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