Communication is an essential part of great leadership because every leader must at one time or another stand up and say, “Follow me!”
On Monday, September 13th, the University of Southern California fired its head football coach Clay Helton. Immediately afterwards prominent names began to surface about who would be selected to say “Follow me” and revive this blue blood program.
With USC’s tradition and access to countless Southern California athletes, it is considered to be one of the best jobs in college football.
Two of the names which have recently surfaced as potential candidates are Penn State head coach James Franklin and Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
Both men held news conferences today. The USC job opening was either the elephant in the room or asked directly about to the coaches. How both men responded to the media provides several communication lessons leaders can learn from.
First, let’s look at a portion of James Franklin’s news conference:
“Obviously a huge challenge going on the road to the Big House”
…does James Franklin not know he’s playing Ohio State this weekend? 😂 pic.twitter.com/uRxGh44Q43
— Barstool OSU (@BarstoolOSU) October 26, 2021
As Barstool pointed out, Penn State is not playing at the Big House, home of the Michigan Wolverines, this weekend. But rather they are playing the Ohio State Buckeyes in their home stadium nicknamed The Horseshoe.
But Coach Franklin had additional communication errors. See below:
“Obviously we’re trying to be focused on Illinois and talking about Illinois”
Now he thinks he’s playing Illinois again? James Franklin is LOST. He can’t wait to get out of there and go to USC 😂 pic.twitter.com/TA1fxUOEMK
— Barstool OSU (@BarstoolOSU) October 26, 2021
As Barstool pointed out, Penn State actually played Illinois last weekend.
Let’s now contrast Coach Franklin’s news conference with Coach Tomlin’s. Coach Tomlin was asked about his interest in the USC job. Watch his emphatic response:
#Steelers Mike Tomlin on possibly taking the USC coaching job.
“Never say never, but never!”pic.twitter.com/pw5mcVGj5o
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) October 26, 2021
First let me say I am a big fan of James Franklin. We have all had leadership and communication moments we wish we could do over. I know I sure do. However, these two news conferences provide a stark contrast between effective and ineffective communication.
Whose News Conference Is It?
Let’s begin by identifying whose news conference this was. It was not the media’s. It was not the team’s. It was not the program’s. It was James Franklin and Mike Tomlin’s news conferences. They own and control the message. Regardless of what others may think, the purpose of this time was for the coaches to get their specific message out to the public, and their teams and players.
Here are the contrasting messages the two coaches sent out:
James Franklin
Coach Franklin, who once again, is normally a very effective communicator was:
- Unprepared
- Misinformed
- Mistaken
- Lacked Focus
- Confusing
This potentially creates a lack of confidence from the team, potential recruits, and administration in their leader and the team’s future as is he may be looking ahead at the USC job. Barstool Sports sure thinks so.
Mike Tomlin
On the other hand, Coach Tomlin was:
- Clear
- Concise
- Emphatic – “Never say never but NEVER!”
- Direct
- Insulted he was even asked the question
His answer gave a direct contrast about his view of the value of amateur coaching vs. professional coaching. In fact, a booster could not pay him enough to leave the Steelers. Tomlin also referenced Sean Payton and Andy Reid as people you would not ask this question to. Why him?!
This tells the players, fans, and organization how committed Tomlin is to them. It also tells future free agents (Aaron Rodgers?) that he will be there to coach them in the future. If USC was considering Mike Tomlin for their head coaching position, they should take him off their list.
Leadership Lessons
This tale of two communicators teach us about the importance of owning our own message and delivering it with excellence. It also spotlights how vital preparation, clarity, and focus are and the subsequent impact it has on all affected by our leadership.
Work on your communication. It is critical for maximizing your influence.
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