Do You Know The Four Elements of Leadership?
… throwing a football is not one of them
Goal: Discuss 4 elements of leadership
Recently while running I listened to Michael Lombardi on the Knowledge Podcast podcast. He has served in several NFL team organizations in various roles. During the show he mentioned that coaching in the NFL follows 4 elements. Most successful coaches do at least 3 out of 4 really well.
Four Elements of Leadership
- Management of Attention. Develop a plan of attack
American football is very strategic. Each week the coach has to review their past weekend’s performance. What were the mistakes? How do we change those into successes?
The coaching staff has to review their next weekend’s opponents previous games and look for patterns. What worked for them? What players need to be stopped or controlled?
These ideas and I am sure much much more goes into a plant of attack for next game. Coaching staff has to get through this mountain of data by Tuesday.
Why?
2. Management of Meaning..Explain your plan to functional leaders
The plan has to be presented to the players. They need to understand the logic behind the ideas. The data that has been converted into information by the coaches has to be downloaded to the players.
The information is downloaded through physical practice Wednesday through Friday. Each play is critiqued and drilled and drilled.
3. Management of Trust..Nurture and maintain stakeholders
Saturday is used walk through the plan. The teams get together and without physical contact review the plan and strategy that they will use against their opponent.
This day serves to make sure that the players are comfortable with execution of the plan. This day is to create a mental connection to the physical work that was done during the last three days.
The players are the stakeholders as well as executioners of the plan. They have to buy into the execution and feel that their input is taken into consideration. They are professionals and need to be a part of the effort. If they don’t buy into the solution or how that solution is being executed they might not play to their level of potential.
4. Management of Self..knowing your gaps and filling them with others
If you are a player you have been told what the plan is, had your body involved in physical contact to memorize the plan, and lastly connect the mental and physical together.
The player now has to execute.
But just knowing the plays and mentally connecting them is not enough. If your mindset is not one of believing and wanting it will not result in success.
A coach can talk to you about your mind. A leader can give you a book to read. BUT in the end you have to want it bad enough to win.
That one fact is indisputable. The elements help a leader set their team up for success BUT the player has to do their part in working on themselves.
That is most likely why most coaches can only help with 3 out of 4 of the elements. You can be a great strategist(1). Great teacher(2). Fantastic Nurturer(3). BUt you can not be the person or be the person’s mindset(4). That only a player can do.
Why I chose the picture?
Tom Brady is arguably the greatest quarterback that has ever played the game. You can look at the picture and tell that he is in great shape physically. I think that he must excel in the four elements to be successful. BUT to win 6 championships, he must really push himself on element 4. He has started on a new path with Tampa. It will be interesting to observe whether their coach excels in the 4 elements the way Belichick and Lombardi pushed him at New England.
My seven cents….(this is what I earned from Medium.com for Nov. 2020)
I got to go…my future self alarm went off
Robert Trajkovski is professional with experience in leading people and projects in Steel/ Power, Refining, Chemicals, Industrial Gasses, Software, Consulting and Academia. He has worked for both owners and engineering companies. In addition, he has instructed 73+ courses at several institutions and often offers his courses for free on LinkedIn.
