On Leadership: Why Pro Sports is a Useful Analytical Tool for Business Leadership and Management

It turns out that business leaders can learn an outsized amount about the attributes of great leadership from both championship coaches and star players.

I’m a pro football fan.

A big one.

And, occasionally, an NBA fan, an NHL fan, an MLB fan, and college football and basketball fan. And a USWMNT fan. And, this year, a US Women’s Hockey fan. I have been a pro sports fan since my earliest recollections lying on the floor in the 70s looking up at the black and white TV, with my dad cheering for the Broncos or the Dodgers (how a kid in Colorado ends up rooting for the LA Dodgers is a story for another time).

Before I got started down the path of management, John Elway captured my imagination as a late-teen. As if my love for the Broncos needed any additional fire — Elway turned into a roaring pyre of passion.

As I entered the world of management at age 24, the Broncos were starting to compete for Super Bowls (and lose, mostly). In the lead-up to the Super Bowl(s), the media frenzy created all kinds of opportunities to hear from star players, coaches, position coaches and even rank and file players. Little phrases would catch my attention:

“I’d do anything for my teammates.”

“We have an amazing locker room.”

“I do my job because I know my teammates are going to do theirs.”

“This is the most cohesive bunch of people I’ve ever coached.”

“I love my teammates.”

Then, the Broncos hired Mike Shanahan and they won Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998 — which coincided with Year 2 and Year 3 of my first business. I had graduated from managing (at Apple) to running my own business. Mike was dubbed a “football genius” coach. At his side was Gary Kubiak, the “player’s coach” who created harmony in the locker room.

And I started to ask myself the question: How is it that one team — among a set of peer teams who are equally talented — is able to rise above and achieve greatness? Sure, 12 teams achieve excellence when they reach the playoffs or win their conference. But only one among them reaches greatness. It’s the same with the NCAA Basketball Tournament(s) — one out of 64 achieves greatness.

So, what does it take for a team to move from excellence (playoffs) to greatness (championships)? And, once we understand what it takes, can we use the differing achievements of these teams as a compare/contrast analytical tool for business?

After over 20 years of leading businesses and observing champion football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer teams and studying the words the coaches and players use — the answer is a resounding yes.

It turns out that businesses that are able to reach greatness have many things in common with those championship teams:

• passion for the mission
• an abnormal level of dedication and hard work amongst every team member
• a maniacal focus on the singular definition of “winning”
• extreme focus on doing their jobs (accountability)
• outstanding communication amongst teammates
• coaching that truly cares for the players
• self-awareness for how each individual can improve (rather than blaming their teammates for problems)
• consistently positive attitudes
• elimination of politics and cliques
• conscious cultivation of information sharing
• a culture that promotes relationships
• and, ultimately, one that promotes a deep level of trust and love for one’s teammates.

It also turns out that business leaders can learn a great deal about the attributes of great leadership from both championship coaches and star players. Qualities such as humility, team-first ethic, accountability, personal touches, relationship building, extreme diligence, competitiveness, candid communications, and many more.

This blog post introduces a series of blog posts to come on management and leadership. That series will often draw upon either current or past sporting events and quotes from pro sports owners, coaches and players to illustrate many of the components of high performing teams. All elements that we’re working hard to instill, work on and perfect at Misty Robotics. Nobody gets it “right” — even championship teams will tell you that there are areas in which they can improve. But those who constantly strive towards excellence in each of those areas above — they really do have a chance at greatness.

Finally, one of my favorite quotes is from Crazy Horse (it’s all over the gift shop at the monument in the Black Hills):

”When the legends die, the dreams end; when the dreams end, there is no more greatness.”

But I prefer to reword that in the positive:

“Without legends, there would be no dreams. Without dreams, there would be no greatness.”

Pro sports teams give us in tech a great analytical construct through which to evaluate what it takes to achieve greatness. Our legends, like Apple and the personal computer, or Oculus and the AR/VR headset, and the dreams of our founder, Ian Bernstein since he started building robots at age 12, are what lead us to seek greatness. Only time will tell.

In the meantime, I’ll continue to watch each champion, in each sport, for clues.