They are known by many names – back-up, deputy, proxy, replacement, substitute, associate, understudy, Vice President, Vice Chair, or person in-waiting.
For our purposes, we will call this individual the Second-In-Command.
On my first day with INJOY Stewardship Solutions, then-president Dave Sutherland told me, “My job is to make (owner) John Maxwell’s vision a reality.” This is the essence of someone who occupies the position of second-in-command. Your job is to make the primary leader successful and their vision a reality.
The past weekend, ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown had a segment entitled “The Quarterback Room.” Former quarterback and current analyst Alex Smith hosted the feature. It was so good that I hope ESPN makes it an ongoing segment.
Smith and several guests discussed the dynamics of the starting quarterback and his backup’s relationship. Watch this segment below.
The following are 14 Lessons on being a Second-In-Command Leader I gleaned from the video. First is the lesson followed by the supporting quote.
- A Good Second-In-Command Leader Provides Whatever The Team Needs To Be Successful – “What makes a successful quarterback room is being what the team needs you to be, providing the leadership that comes with the role, playing with a level of consistency that positions us for victory.” – Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin
- Many Second-In-Command Leaders Want To Be The Primary Leader – “We both want to be on the field but there’s only one quarterback who can be on the field at once.” – Justin Fields
- Second-In-Command Leaders Push The Primary Leader To Continually Earn Their Position – “You’ve got to go out everyday and earn the right to be a starting quarterback.” – Kirk Cousins
- Being A Second-In-Command Leader Requires Humility – “The humility of the quarterback room and the challenge that it takes to be a quarterback at the highest level, you get to define that everyday.” – Russell Wilson
- Primary Leaders Model Quality Leadership Looks To Second-In-Command Leaders – “I think the biggest thing was how you accepted me into the quarterback room. When I got into the quarterback room and saw how professional you were, I knew I had to get better and better.” – Patrick Mahomes on Alex Smith
- Second-In-Command Leaders Should Continually Learn From Primary Leaders – “I would pick his brain everyday… He set such an unbelievable example for me of how to be a teammate.” – Kurt Warner on Trent Green
- Primary Leaders Should Proactively Mentor Second-In-Command Leaders – “I took the approach with Eli, show him what it means to be a pro NFL quarterback everyday.” – Warner
- Not Everyone Wants To Be A Mentor – “It’s not my job to get him ready to play. It’s his job. I’m not obligated one bit. My contract does not say I have to get Aaron Rodgers ready to play.” – Brett Favre about then-backup Aaron Rodgers
- Trust Is Required Between Primary And Second-In-Command Leaders – “I think there’s a sacred nature to the room, but I think there needs to be a real special bond in that room of guys who, we know we can say anything, but it stays in that room. Because we have to have conversations about a lot of different things, from the plays to the players, and having that trust that everything stays in the room is really, really important.” – Rodgers
- Second-In-Command Leaders Must Be Curious – “Tom (Brady) was curious, almost annoyingly so.” – Drew Bledsoe
- A Primary Leader’s Success Is Determined By His/Her Succession – “It’s a bitter pill to swallow but it’s the right thing to do. I take pride in how I acted during that time and helped us win a championship that year.” – Bledsoe on Brady replacing him as the Patriots starter.
- Second-In-Command Leaders Are The Primary Cheerleaders Of The Primary Leaders – “You have to believe as a quarterback you have someone that’s always in your corner and a lot of times, that backup quarterback is that cheerleader that’s going to be in your corner even when the whole world’s against you.” – Bledsoe
- Second-In-Command Leaders Must Remain Humble, Curious, And Keep Asking Questions When They Become The Primary Leaders – “The minute (Tony Romo) became the starter, he became pretty big in his own mind, and he was no longer the curious, inquisitive guy. That was the difference between him and Tommy. (When) Tommy became the starter, he still was asking all the questions, where all of a sudden Romo was the guy that had all the answers.” – Bledsoe on when Tony Romo replaced him as the starter for the Dallas Cowboys.
- Both Primary And Second-In-Command Leaders Can Learn From Anyone – “If you’re trying to be great, you don’t care where lessons come from. Anybody in this profession that’s trying to get all the meat off the bone brings a humility to get better.” – Tomlin
Whether you are the primary leader or second-in-command, what is one thing you learned from this list which will make you a better leader?
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