The Best Leaders Empower Their Teams
Help each of your team members see that they are important to the team as a whole. Develop leaders within the team to help the organization succeed.
Whether you are the head coach of a sports team or the CEO or head of a division in a large company, you must get the best out of your players and team members.
Part of being a great leader is making tough decisions that increases the chances for success. Part of it involves recognizing each person’s unique skills and allowing him or her to use those talents to drive the team’s performance. And much of the leader’s role is ensuring each team member — and the team itself — continually improves.
It’s critical to understand, though, that sitting at the top and telling your team members what to do is not often the most effective way to lead. Belittling your employees and demanding excellence through harsh criticism can backfire. Instead, helping each team member see that they are important to the team as a whole and helping them become leaders within the team can push the organization much farther in the long run.
Bill Belichick, Mike Krzyzewski, Jürgen Klopp, and John Calipari are some of the most successful coaches in their sports. While there is no question that they are great strategists on the field and court, much of their success can be attributed to their abilities to develop leaders within their teams that help their teams thrive. Using these same philosophies, you can help your team succeed in any environment.
Show your team members that they are important to the organization.
“As a leader, your attitude has a powerful impact on others. Whether that impact is positive or negative depends on the choices you make. You have an obligation to develop a positive attitude, one that inspires the people around you to achieve the impossible.”
– Lou Holtz, national championship-winning head coach at Notre Dame, college football TV analyst, and the only coach to lead six schools to bowl games
One of the easiest, but least utilized methods, of helping people in your organization realize their worth to the team, is to learn their names. That seems like a simple task, but it can be a tall challenge, especially for the top leaders.
Liverpool Football Club has been one of the most dominant soccer teams in the history of the sport. Liverpool has won 18 English championships, but their last league title was almost 30 years ago, in 1990.
In the middle of the 2015 season, when the team was really struggling, Liverpool’s owners hired German manager Jürgen Klopp. Klopp knew he needed to change the attitude and culture of the team if they were going to succeed. So, what did he do?
First day, he walked into the training facility. He already knew the names of all the employees. All 80 of them. Every single member of the organization. He found each one of them and introduced himself.
Later that day, he lined up all 80 of the employees — the athletic trainers, the chefs, the nutritionist, the janitors, the ticket office people — everyone.
Then he brought in his team. English soccer players are some of the most famous and highest paid athletes on the planet. Liverpool paid tens of millions of dollars just to sign some of these players — in addition to their salaries.
Klopp introduced every one of these famous, high-paid athletes to every one of the 80 employees. He recognizes that a championship team isn’t just about the guys he has on the field.
Championship teams — championship organizations — are made up of every single person in the organization.
How many names of people in your business do you know, and not just the person at the desk or cubicle next to you? It’s probably far less than 80.
Make an effort every day to introduce yourself to someone in your company. Offer to do something to help them with their work. Say something nice. Just take a few minutes and make a personal connection.
If you work in a small company where you already know everyone — and you’re helping each of them or doing something nice for them on a regular basis — then go introduce yourself to one of your customers, or one of your suppliers or vendors.
Get to know everyone on your team personally. Then help them recognize that they are key parts of the team. Show them that their efforts contribute to the success of the entire organization.
Instill a culture where leaders within the team help others.
“The best coaches, the best bosses, the best parents, the best leaders are the ones who show their people not just how to get better but how to motivate themselves to get better.”
– Bob Bowman, coach of swimmer Michael Phelps, winner of 23 Olympic gold medals
The New England Patriots have won six NFL Super Bowl titles. Yes, it’s easy to point to head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, who are arguably the greatest at what they do in the history of the game. But much of the team’s success lies in the culture of the organization. In fact, many believe “The Patriot Way” is the key to the team’s long-term success.
Belichick and Brady exemplify “The Patriot Way.” The head coach is well-known for calling out his players, no matter how great they are.
Former Patriots players recall how Belichick would critique every player’s performance, including his star quarterback. After an AFC Championship Game loss to the Indianapolis Colts, as Belichick reviewed film of the game with his players, the head coach remarked, “What the (expletive) is this? I could get Johnny Foxborough from down the street to make a better (expletive) throw than this, Brady.” Every player in the room instantly recognized that they would be held to a high standard, no matter how good they were.
Belichick doesn’t just demand a lot from his players, though. He shows them they are important to the team’s success. Jerod Cherry, a member of the special teams unit for the Patriots, claims that trait is what makes Belichick so successful. “Bill made everyone, whether you played five plays or a hundred plays, feel like their contribution mattered. He gets everyone to understand that if you’re a practice squad guy or the starting quarterback, your input contributes to the winning. And when you feel empowered like that, you want to give your all.”
Despite winning several Super Bowls and 38 of his first 50 games as the team’s starting quarterback, Tom Brady bought into Belichick’s philosophy. Cherry recalls being at the Patriots’ facility late one night getting treatment for an injury. He noticed only one other player still in the building — Tom Brady. The quarterback had a stack of game films in his arms, heading to the film room to analyze what he could do better to help the team win.
Brady, though, also recognizes that it isn’t just his performance that his teammates need. He must empower other players on the team, no matter how often they play.
One season, the Patriots signed an undrafted free agent from a Division III school named Scott Farley. Farley was walking past the team cafeteria when he saw Brady ahead. Assuming the quarterback would have no idea who he was, he tried to simply walk past him. Brady stopped him, called him by name and said hello. Farley clearly remembers the moment and what it did for him. “A moment like that can go a long way for a guy like me. I’m like a nobody, and I felt wanted, respected, and that I meant as much as anyone else there.”
As a leader, it’s important that you show each member of your team that they must do their best. You must help them recognize where they can improve. But it’s more than being demanding and criticizing suboptimal performance. You must show that you care about each person and that you believe they can help the whole organization succeed, no matter what their role is.
Allow your team members to have a voice and express their ideas.
“A leader has to realize that he is not always the best, most talented, or smartest one in the room.”
– Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University basketball coach and winner of five NCAA national championships and three Olympic gold medals
It’s important to show that each team member is valuable. It’s crucial that you help them realize that their contributions are important. But you must help them lead as well. Understand that even if you’re the CEO or head coach, yours isn’t the only voice your team wants or needs to hear.
Mike Krzyzewski, or Coach K as he is often called, is one of the most successful coaches in basketball. He has won five national championships as head coach of the Duke Blue Devils, and he led USA Basketball to three Olympic gold medals.
One of the skills Coach K believes has contributed to his success is his ability to develop leaders within the team. Both at Duke and with USA Basketball, Krzyzewski has had great players on his teams. He encourages the talented ones, as well as some of the hard workers who aren’t stars, to take leadership roles within the team.
Study the different skills and leadership qualities of each of your team members. Allow each of them to have a voice and express their ideas. Show that their voices and opinions matter.
Find individuals with different talents and allow them to work together in a way that turns the overall combination of strengths into a powerful leadership force.
Be unselfish with your leadership. Cultivate leaders within your team and watch them grow.
Allow your team members to lead themselves.
“It ain’t about pouting. It ain’t about pointing fingers. It’s about getting better. It’s about taking ownership, and it’s about everybody doing what they’ve got to do.”
– Dabo Swinney, Clemson University head football coach and winner of two NCAA national championships
John Calipari, the head coach of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team, believes that people within an organization are the organization. He feels that if he, as the coach and leader, cares for his players and helps them reach their personal goals, then the team as a whole will be more successful.
But Calipari doesn’t believe that leadership is simply a top-down exercise. Every individual on a team — in basketball or in a company — has to help other people achieve their goals to help the team thrive.
Calipari makes a point each season to identify which players are naturally strong leaders. Then he gives them more responsibility to lead and make decisions. In doing so, Calipari has watched his teams become more cohesive units who play for each other and help each other win.
In the spring of the 2016 season, Kentucky played a road game at the University of South Carolina. Just three minutes into the game, a referee ejected Calipari from the game. The Wildcats now faced playing almost an entire game without their head coach.
Despite assistant coach Kenny Payne taking over sideline duties and calling defensive sets, sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis directed the offense. Payne claimed he never called a play for the Wildcats’ offense. Ulis took over. He became a leader within the team.
After the game, which Kentucky won 89–62, Calipari told reporters, “The best part of that last game is I could step away — didn’t do it on purpose — but I could step away and see that this team was empowered. They were running and doing the things that we had taught and they didn’t need me there. It’s not me driving them anymore. It’s not me battling them anymore. I don’t need to. They’re dragging us now, and that’s what I try to do every year.”
How can you help your team members become better leaders? What responsibilities can you give them to help their teammates grow and improve? How can you get them to step up and help the entire organization succeed?
Help people within your team become and act as leaders themselves.
“Leadership is the ability to get individuals to work together for the common good and the best possible results while at the same time letting them know they did it themselves.”
– John Wooden, head coach of the UCLA basketball team, winner of 10 national championships in a 12-year period, and seven-time national coach of the year
Whatever your role is in your company, make an effort to be the best leader you can be. If you’re the head of the organization, or you run a division or department, look for people with natural leadership traits and give them more responsibility to guide other team members.
Even if you don’t lead as part of your job description, find ways to take on added responsibility that helps the company grow. Look for opportunities to help your colleagues improve.
Help people within your team become and act as leaders themselves, and you will become a champion in sports, business and life.
Hire Dr. Geier to speak to your organization.
Dr. David Geier is a popular leadership and burnout keynote speaker for corporate and medical audiences. Click here to learn more about how he can educate and inspire your audience. Or if you prefer, he can deliver an online webinar for your team or organization. Click here to learn more about Dr. Geier’s burnout webinars.
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