During Thursday, October 3rd’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins led the team to 36-30 overtime win by throwing for a franchise-record 509 yards and four touchdowns.
In doing so, Cousins gave us a profile of what a great leader looks like.
1. Great Leaders Have Great Character
Any discussion about the leadership of Kirk Cousins must begin with his authentic Christian faith. His commitment to his family and perspective on life was inspiring. If you are unfamiliar with the Netflix quarterback series, I cannot recommend it enough. Below is clip where Cousins gives his son a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
Talent determines a leader’s floor. Talent plus character determines a leader’s ceiling.
2. Great Leaders Are Resilient
Another trait Cousins showed during the Netflix series was his toughness. While he kept getting continually hit hard, he never complained. He simply got back up and continued to lead his team. This year, Cousins is coming off a major Achilles surgery and still delivering record-breaking results.
The three greatest abilities a leader has a dependability, availability, and reliability. Cousins epitomizes all three.
3. Great Leaders Make Others Successful
In this article from The Athletic, Cousins said, “(Offensive coordinator) Zac (Robinson) kept putting the ball in my hand, kept giving me opportunities and people kept getting open. I was protected. And my job is just (to) be the distributor and give it to the open man, and got a lot of opps tonight.”
Kirk Cousins, like all great leaders, excels at distributing opportunities. In the game, seven different receivers caught passes. A key measure of a leader’s impact is how many people they positively influence.
4. Great Leaders Continually Improve
Successful leaders know what made you a success today will not keep you a success tomorrow. Therefore, continual improvement is always required. Cousins said. “As a group, we’ve kind of been better each week. I felt like we took another step (Thursday).”
5. Great Leaders Are Decisive
People crave clarity. Uncertainty breeds anxiety, worry, panic, and conflicting personal agendas. It also restricts creativity, limits production, and harms trust. As a result, leaders must be decisive and provide clear direction.
In this article from The Athletic, Cousins added, “There was a drive in the second quarter when I threw a couple passes where I was basically anticipating where Kyle (Pitts) was going to be or where Drake (London) was going to be. I was ahead of it a little bit in a good way and threw it decisively.”
Preparation improves your ability to be decisive
6. Great Leaders Deliver Results
These principles build on each other.
Character + Resilience + Making Others Better + Continual Improvement + Decisiveness = Great Results
As a person living in Atlanta, I can confidently say the Falcons would not have won that game in the last three years. But this year they did. What is the difference – the leader! Kirk Cousins has given the Falcons a chance for significant success.
In addition to winning the game, he also did it in a record-breaking fashion. Cousins delivered results.
7. Great Leaders Understand The Value Of Celebration
After great results have been achieved, it is time to celebrate. Celebration is the payoff for a job well-done. As a result, a leader who cannot celebrate is a leader not worth following.
Immediately after the game’s conclusion, Cousins swag surfed with the fans. See the video below.
But the partied continued in the locker room as Cousins celebrated with his teammates. See below.
8. Great Leaders Are Always Forward Thinking
While great leaders understand the value of celebration, the most successful ones do not spend a lot of time there. They do celebrate but quickly move on after an appropriate amount of time. “What’s next?” is the leader’s motto.
Cousins said, “It’s a step in the right direction. It’s such a week-to-week league where it can be all over the map. You just never know what the next game will bring and what the next game will call for.”
In other words, Cousins was already thinking about the next game.
Conclusion
If you want to be a great leader, you must possess these eight qualities:
- Great character.
- Resilience.
- Make others successful.
- Continually improve.
- Be decisive.
- The ability to deliver great results.
- Celebrate.
- And continually think forward.
What is one area in the list above you must improve upon to become a great leader?
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