Culture is the cumulative character, competence, and creativity which drive daily behavior and success for any family, church, business, non-profit, or athletic organization. Behind their own personal development, creating a healthy culture is a leader’s top responsibility.
During an October 5th appearance on The Herd With Colin Cowherd, current Lipscomb Academy head football coach and NFL analyst Trent Dilfer put on a leadership clinic. While covering a series of pro football topics, Dilfer built a framework of what healthy and unhealthy cultures look like.
The following are 18 Lessons On The Characteristics Of Healthy And Unhealthy Cultures I gleaned from Dilfer’s comments. These are applicable to any organization you may be leading.
- Healthy Cultures Have Leaders With Moral Authority – “He’s brought back the moral authority of the locker room that was there.”
- Great Leaders Immediately Change The Culture In Their Organizations – “Everyone knew Tom was just roll in and change the overall culture of the locker room.”
- Great Leaders Are King Makers – “Pretty soon Byron Leftwich is going to be a head coach and Todd Bowles is going to be a head coach again. Tom Brady is a king maker. More than just a great player, more than just a guy who elevates the players around him, he makes kings out of coaches.”
- Great Leaders And Cultures Cannot Be Quantified – “Tom Brady’s influence on an organization can’t be quantified.”
- Everyone Is In Alignment In Healthy Cultures – “He’s not just the greatest quarterback of all-time. He’s one of the greatest leaders of all-time. He gets everyone moving in the same direction.”
- Everyone Is Held Accountable In Healthy Cultures – “He keeps everyone accountable.”
- Leaders Are Held Accountable In Healthy Cultures – “He holds himself accountable. It’s what every locker room, it’s what every organization needs.”
Dallas Cowboys
- People Are Not Bought In To Unhealthy Cultures – “When defenses are playing bad they’re not entirely bought into what they’re being taught from a scheme level. NFL players are smart and a lot of them have played in other schemes.”
- Unhealthy Cultures Prioritize Sizzle Over Substance – “You’re seeing sizzle not substance… That’s not a long-term solution.”
- Unhealthy Cultures Do Not Do The Little Things – “It’s got to be substance-driven, not sizzle-driven. You’ve got to do little things right all the time to win consistency in the NFL.”
- Unhealthy Cultures Do Not Win Consistently – “You’ve got to do little things right all the time to win consistency in the NFL.”
Philadelphia Eagles
- Healthy Cultures Have A Great Leadership Culture – “One thing about Carson Wentz is he misses Frank Reich, dearly.”
- Healthy Cultures Are Efficient – “Efficiency over explosion. Explosion comes but first you must be efficient.”
- Healthy Cultures Focus On The Process – “You stack up enough efficient games and explosion will come.”
Josh Allen and Justin Herbert
- Healthy Cultures Are Learning Cultures – “I give his tribe a lot of credit… Jordan Palmer has worked really hard with Josh to accelerate his learning curve.”
- Healthy Cultures Are Discerning Cultures – “He (Allen) plays with discernment on early downs.”
- People Are Confident In Healthy Cultures – “The confidence is spewing out of him (Herbert).”
- People Minimize Unnecessary Mistakes In A Healthy Culture – “The value of sitting and watching – you don’t have to make mistakes. You can watch other knuckleheads make mistakes and learn from their mistakes.”
What is one thing you learned from the list above which will help you develop a great culture?
Speaking of extraordinary leaders, during the 2019 college football season, fans were given a gift when legendary coach Urban Meyer joined Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff preview show as a studio analyst. As a three-time national championship head coach, Coach Meyer’s ability to deliver complex leadership principles with brevity and concise terminology created a compelling experience for educated and “smart” fans. Throughout the season, I captured Coach Meyer’s best leadership quotes from this weekly show. I wanted to make them available to you in this new complimentary resource Urban Meyer 2019 Fox Sports Big Noon Kickoff Ebook.
The contents includes Winning Cultures, 3 Types of Teams, Strategy and Competition, Recruiting, Rivalry Games, Personal Performance, and much, much more. Click HERE to get your complimentary copy today! Trust me – this resource will make you a better leader.