Pearls of Wisdom from Two Coaches to Business Leaders

Years ago, I had the opportunity to hear Brady Hoke, then the head football coach at the University of Michigan, give a speech. After a very complimentary introduction and a standing ovation, one of the first things he said was, “We failed to win the Big Ten Championship.”

His team had finished the season 11-2 and won a bowl game. Most people would have considered that a very successful year. Hoke did not dismiss those accomplishments, but he also did not confuse progress with achieving the ultimate goal.

Throughout his brief but hard-hitting speech, he mentioned the failure to win the championship several more times. I remember being impressed by his focus. He also taught the audience three chants he regularly used with his players:

• “When I say championship, you say 42.”

• “When I say years, you say 133.”

• “When I say beat, you say Ohio.”

Each chant connected the players to the history, purpose, and expectations of the program. A long and complicated football season could be summarized in a few memorable ideas.

Can Your Team State the Goal?

That experience made me think about business leaders.

Can the people in your company explain your most important goal just as clearly?

Or does your organization suffer from what I call “flavor of the month” leadership, where the priorities seem to change every few weeks?

Many companies have mission statements, annual plans, departmental goals, scorecards, and long lists of initiatives. Those tools may all be valuable, but too many competing priorities can make it difficult for the team to understand what truly matters.

A leader’s job is not simply to establish goals. It is to create enough clarity and repetition that the entire organization knows what it is trying to accomplish.

Hoke did not assume his players remembered the goal because it had been discussed once at the beginning of the season. He repeated it.

Business leaders may need to do the same thing.

Strong Leaders Talk About Failure

A few years earlier, I had the opportunity to hear Tom Izzo, the longtime basketball coach at Michigan State University, speak.I had a similar reaction.

Both Hoke and Izzo were accomplished coaches, but neither one spent the entire time describing victories or taking credit for successful seasons. They were willing to talk openly about their failures, mistakes, and disappointments.

More importantly, they explained how those experiences helped make them and their teams stronger. I found that refreshing.

Many leaders feel pressure to appear as though they always have the right answer. They may believe admitting a mistake will cause their team to lose confidence in them. My experience has generally been the opposite.

When a capable leader is willing to say, “I made the wrong decision,” or, “We did not accomplish what we set out to do,” it can create greater trust.

It also gives the team permission to discuss problems honestly rather than hide them.

The goal is not to celebrate failure or lower expectations. The goal is to learn from what happened and become better because of it.

Humility Makes Leadership More Credible

Both Hoke and Izzo had impressive records, but what I found most magnetic was their humility.

Around that same time, I heard Patrick Lencioni, author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and several other leadership books, speak about the importance of humility.

His message reminded me of what I had observed in both coaches.

Humility does not mean a leader lacks confidence. It means the leader does not need to pretend to be perfect, take all the credit, or make every conversation about himself or herself.

POP OUT: Humility: Not pretending to be perfect, take all the credit, or be self-centered. (Note to Tom: this would be a graphic between the lines or on the side with the definition for visual impact)

Humble leaders can acknowledge the contributions of others. They can receive feedback. They can admit when they are wrong. They can remain focused on the team’s success rather than their own recognition.

One of my favorite stories about Tom Izzo is that he once gave a National Championship ring to a field house janitor.

Whether someone was a star player, assistant coach, administrator, or member of the support staff, Izzo understood that championships are rarely achieved by one person.

The same is true in business.

What Does Your Team Experience?

Business leaders often evaluate employees based on their engagement, attitude, performance, and loyalty. It may also be helpful to turn the question around.

• How does your team experience your leadership?

• Do they know what matters most?

• Do they hear you accept responsibility when something goes wrong?

• Do you recognize the people whose work is easy to overlook?

• Can team members challenge your thinking without fearing your reaction?

• Do they believe you are more interested in the organization’s success than in receiving personal credit?

Those questions can be uncomfortable, but they are worth considering.

Leadership is not measured only by the goals we set or the results we achieve. It is also reflected in the environment we create while pursuing those results.

Focus, Learn, and Share the Credit

The lessons I took away from Brady Hoke and Tom Izzo were simple:

• Be clear about the goal.

• Repeat it until the team understands it.

• Be honest about failure.

• Learn from mistakes.

• Remain humble.

• Give credit to the people who helped make success possible.

Those principles apply whether you are coaching a football team, leading a basketball program, or building a business.

Most owners and executives do not need another complicated leadership model. They need the discipline to stay focused, the humility to keep learning, and the courage to ask how their leadership is affecting the people around them.

That is also one of the values of executive coaching. A trusted advisor can help a leader step back from the daily demands of the business, evaluate what is working, confront what is not, and clarify the priorities that deserve the team’s attention.

So, let me leave you with two questions:

Can your team clearly state the goal?

And do they experience you as the kind of leader they want to follow?