- COVID Has Caused Leaders To Make Hard Decisions – The Chicago Cubs laid off 100+ employees this past week, many from scouting, marketing, and stadium operations. Authors Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma concluded their article by writing, “That is the story of Corporate America in the middle of a pandemic and a global recession. The players viewed as assets through the game’s analytics movement already know this: In the end, everyone is a number on a spreadsheet.” October 21st
- What Separates The Best Leaders Is They Not Only Do Special Things But Do Special Things Consistently – “Mookie’s pretty special. He does things on a baseball field that not many people can do, and he does it very consistently, which I think separates him from other guys.” – Clayton Kershaw on superstar Mookie Betts, ESPN, October 21st
- Great Teams Do Not Waste Opportunity – Tampa Bay Ray’s manager Kevin Cash after the team’s Game 7 ALCS win, “We’re not a team that is built with superstar after superstar. We’re a team that maximizes opportunities and tries to get matchups to help us win games. And we did that really, really well this year.” October 18th
- Legacies Are Built On Primarily On Accomplishment – Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said, “The legacy of this group is, these guys are ballplayers. And these guys are men. They’ve been through a whole bunch, other than on the ball field. And these guys can forget whatever problem that they’ve had and come together as a group. … And when they invite the 2017 team back and the 20-whatever team back, these guys will cherish these moments and have these moments for the rest of their lives.” – October 18th
- Great Talent Will Always Be In High Demand – An unnamed American League executive wrote, “It’s hard to get redemption for a complete lack of integrity. (But) I don’t think any rational people didn’t think they were talented. And I would happily take (George) Springer, (Alex) Bregman and (Carlos) Correa on my team.” – October 18th
- The Best Leaders Continually Tweak What Works Well Based Upon The Skills Of Their Team – “This is one of Reid’s greatest strengths as a play designer and caller. He’s more than willing to take a concept that works well and tweak it according to the skill set of his players.” – writes Seth Kaysor on Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, October 1
- The Best Leaders Are The Most Humble Leaders – Kaysor continues, “and has no shame in copying things that work against the Chiefs. The lack of ego as a head coach is part of the reason he has been one of the most successful coaches in incorporating college and even high school concepts into the pro game, and it has helped him consistently stay one step ahead of defensive coordinators for more than two decades now.”
- COVID Has Revealed The True Leaders In Your Organization – Theo Epstein said of Chicago Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo, “Rizz’s leadership has always been terrific, but he’s really taken it to another level this year, especially with respect to dealing with the coronavirus. He’s been sparking discussions, steering the conversation, leading the way, developing consensus on difficult issues, setting a great example and just being really intentional with how he leads this group… It’s been awesome to see someone who was already a really good leader grow even more in that area. The energy he’s bringing to the dugout, how locked in he is throughout the whole game, whether he’s on the field or in the dugout, it’s been awesome. It’s been the same way off the field. Really impressive.” – September 29th
- You Can’t Be A Lasting Leader If You Have Poor Health – Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said about quarterback Justin Fields, “Here’s a kid that wanted to become a great player, and I think he knew part of that was taking care of his body. He made a commitment because he wanted to be a little bit leaner, wanted to take care of himself even better. He made a commitment to a style of diet. I think that’s awesome. He did it to be leaner, take care of himself and be stronger and faster. He looks that way.” September 28th
- A Leader’s Success Is Determined By The People And Resources Surrounding Them – For two seasons, the Buffalo Bills have prioritized surrounding its young quarterback Josh Allen with everything needed to be successful. The team hired Brian Daboll as its offensive coordinator and acquired wide receivers John Brown and Stefon Diggs. Thus far, the results have been impressive.
- COVID Does Not Give Leaders A Pass From Not Doing Their Job – Alabama head coach Nick Saban told ESPN, “It’s one of the greatest challenges any of us has faced, all that goes into getting a team ready to play football in the middle of a pandemic and doing everything we can to keep people safe. But that doesn’t mean we were going to throw up our hands and not try.” – September 24th. For more from Coach Saban click “Skill alone does not equate to talent” and 10 Other Lessons On Teamwork From Nick Saban.
- Winners Are Versatile And Do Everything Right – 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said, “If you like winning, you like Ronnie Blair. If you don’t like winning, then you don’t like him. It’s a very simple concept, but Ronnie does everything right. He’s very versatile.” – September 22nd
- Cultural Superpowers Properly Use Conflict To Make Better Decisions – Denise Shull said, “You want … to treat conflict in a way that’s effective and then create a culture that is ultimately going to drive more fully informed decisions. And also, when people feel like their point of view was heard and respected, even if it doesn’t get chosen, they have less resentment. They were taken seriously … and any one individual, no matter where they are in the food chain, feeling heard and understood — like, that’s a cultural superpower.” September 15th
- The Most Successful Leaders Are Humble Enough To Learn From Anywhere – The onside kick employed by Dallas Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein to help beat the Atlanta Falcons was learned from Coach Kevin Kelley at Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, AR. Think about that, placing the ball laid flat on the ground and spinning it for 10 yards was learned by a pro kicker from a high school program.
- “Nothing is going to be handed to you. If you want to be great, you got to go get it.” Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf on what he has learned from Russell Wilson. August 26th
- Your Organization’s Best Adjustments Are Often To Things You Already Know How To Do – “The best adjustments are the ones that are already in your playbook, not the ones that you have to cook up at halftime. The adjustments you already have are concepts that you’ve practiced throughout training camp and the season. Your players are familiar with them and can execute them at a high level. Does it take some sort of special foresight to have adjustments before you need them? Not really.” – written by Ted Nguyen August 18th
- Leaders Improve By Having A Specific Plan To Work On A Specific Skill – 3DQB founder Adam Dedeaux said, “I, we at 3DQB, take the training really seriously in the sense that there are specific programs we are putting together with these guys. This is not a place you just come to work out. It’s not a place you just come to throw. You’re working on specific things. … Every offseason with these guys starts with, ‘What is it that you’re here to get better at?’” July 31st
- Leaders See Improvement In Themselves And Their Teams When They Focus More On How You Do Something Than What You Do – Dedeaux add, “But it’s not what you do. It’s how you do it around here. Now, in games, it’s going to be about what you do. But here, it’s about getting better. How you do it matters. How you do it is the reason that Brees and Brady are still playing. … That’s what adds years to a career. When we are creating or setting new goals (and tweaking things) here or there, maybe it’s uncomfortable in the beginning and your results aren’t going to be great, but if you’re patient with the process, you’re going to see improvement.” – July 31st
Unless otherwise noted, each quote above came from the daily sports publication The Athletic. Let’s just say I will never subscribe to Sports Illustrated again. The Athletic is also offering four readers of this site a free 30-day guest pass. If you would like to check it out, simply click HERE to check out their content.
What is one thing you learned from the list above which will make you a better leader?
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