提升. 教育. 激励.

As America prepares for the Super Bowl featuring the Los Angeles Rams versus the Cincinnati Bengals, 我们来谈谈足球吧, 领导, and two quarterbacks —- one who is just starting his career and another who is ending his this year. Both seem to share a propensity for shining in big moments, 镀锌其他人, 当然, 赢得. I’m talking about the retiring GOAT Tom Brady of the Tampa Bay Bucaneers and the second-year quarterback of the Bengals, 乔洞穴.

 Yet these two seem to do so much more than lead their teams offensively down the field. Their skill is obvious and their “it” factor is much harder to describe but easy to see. The French might say someone has a certain je ne sais quoi meaning their appeal can’t quite be adequately described. 布雷迪和布伦也是这样. Author and 领导 expert Jim Collins would need a new level—6— to put their contributions into a category. His highest level—5– just doesn’t do justice to these two on and off the field leaders.

你曾经是团队的一员吗, 运动与否, or organization where you just wanted to follow the leader? You believed so strongly in him or her that you were fully enlisted and engaged with their efforts? 当然，它们并不完美. Even great movies have some bad scenes. But they clearly have “it” factors that draw you in, 让你保持专注, and make you want to improve your own performance. Here is my modest non-researched attempt to describe what separates these best from the rest. I encourage you to add to my three verbs based on your experiences and observations of 领导 that make outliers.

提升. 教育. 激励. 这就是他们的不同之处.

让我们从 提升. They don’t just improve their performance. They cause others around them to elevate their performance as well. They don’t expect anything of others that they don’t first expect of themselves. A recent Brady article talked of a celebrated linebacker who joined the Patriots when Brady was QB. He showed up at 7:00 am to lift weights with the one person already in the room working out—- Brady. 布雷迪很快欢迎了他. The next day the linebacker showed up at 6:30 am. This time Brady smiled and said, “good afternoon “. The next morning the new guy shows up at 6:00 am and Brady is there with the same greeting to which this time the linebacker says, “ I’m not coming any earlier” and laughed with Brady. Nobody out works Brady and his effort elevates everyone. 他通过自己建模来做到这一点.

教育. Joe’s high school, college, and NFL coaches discuss Joe as a student of the game. 优秀的学习者. He didn’t just model keeping his body strong as witnessed from his physical comeback after a season ending injury last year. While football indeed is physical, it’s also a learner’s game. 阅读防御, calling audibles at the line of scrimmage, and making moves in the moment take incredible adaptations based on learning tendencies and practicing. Demonstrating learning at a high level in your field and then applying lessons is part of the “it” factor that again serves to elevate others.

激励. A friend advised me many years ago with this quip. 他只是问, “did you ever see someone motivated by someone who looks like they were weaned on a dill pickle?布雷迪和巴罗笑了. They don’t have to pretend they are having fun. They are turning their talents into strengths every day and enjoying the journey. 他们的真诚, 谦卑, coolness under pressure and genuineness for everyone else is natural and on full display.  During Joe’s run at LSU, I stopped in his hometown (The Plains) to get a sandwich at a local shop. There was a single young lady working the counter whom I casually asked if she knew Joe. 她的回答. “我和乔是高中同学. While I didn’t KNOW him, he knew everyone. 他对所有人都很友好.” That’s a character reference worth having!

Lastly, you can’t talk your way out of something you have behaved yourself into. Brady and Burrow have behaved themselves in ways that elevate, educate, and energize others. In doing, they have made their teams SO much better. Isn’t that 领导 worth modeling or better yet, worth following? 去孟加拉棉!