Quarterback vs D-Line Leadership

If you know me well enough (or you’ve been reading this newsletter a while), you’ll know I work hard to bifurcate what skills and concepts from sport translate well to the “real world” and which do not. Some of the things that allow us to succeed at the top of sport aren’t necessarily ideal in other settings. 

But authenticity? That’s a skill that translates. 

And the really cool part is that representing yourself authentically can take many different forms. Sometimes even completely opposite forms.

Here’s an example from this year’s Superbowl - it was the thing that also happened during the Olympics. I wouldn’t blame you if you missed it. ;-)

After the LA Rams won the Superbowl, I watched two back-to-back speeches that could not have been more different from each other. And yet they were both perfectly “real” and perfectly perfect.

The first speech (interview) was from Aaron Donald, the defensive tackle for the Rams who made the game-winning stop with less than a minute to play. His acceptance speech was all about him: he talked about how it feels to win, how hard he worked to get here, and what the Superbowl means to him. He teared up talking about how it was everything he dreamed of, and how beautiful it is to win on his team’s home field. Here’s a link to the 95-second interview.

The emotion and vulnerability, coming from a man like Aaron Donald (pictured below), were pretty powerful. He’s a team leader and a captain - and it was clear that it would be hard for anyone on his team not to be inspired by a guy like this that leads through passion.

And then quarterback Matthew Stafford gave his speech (re: interview). Unlike Donald, Stafford did not talk about himself once and he was not emotional at all.

Instead, he talked about everybody on the team, his family, the owners, and the fans. He devoted his entire acceptance speech to celebrating other people. 

Stafford’s speech was so different from Donald’s, but it was equally inspiring and authentic. It was clear to me that Stafford couldn’t stop being the quarterback. He couldn’t stop being the leader. He’s a team leader and captain, too - and that’s also what leaders do: they lift up the other people on the team. 

Here’s a link to Matthew’s 103-second interview.

And so, both speeches were inspiring and authentic. 

I think there’s a lesson in that. There’s not one way to communicate, not one way to be a leader. But if you show up authentically, you can inspire people in a way that is uniquely you.

- Steve