I am not reporting on or predicting a collapse of our financial markets with this subject line.
Rather, I am referring to a different “Black Monday” which is the Monday after the football season ends in the United States…and coaches get fired. 🙁
During a Titans Xcelerator call a little over a year ago, one of my astute members asked me the question:
“Brian…what did you make of the firing of New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh?”
I will assume that none of you know who Robert Saleh is…or what the member is referring to…and therefore his firing was not in any news feed you subscribe to. 🙂
And that firing of a head football coach did not take place after the season ended…but rather in the middle of the season…which tells you how egregious Saleh’s transgressions might have been…and it accentuates the relevance of this post as we just experienced another “Black Monday.”
An alternate subject line for this post could have been:
“Two ways to get fired…anywhere…anytime (and it’s not just about football)”
This is a post about leadership in business (using football as the entry point).
I was told by many on that call (and since then), that the discussion got them thinking about their own leadership (and management) styles…and what they can do to improve the culture of their organizations.
Without getting into the weeds of football, Saleh was fired (for the most part) because he lost a lot more games than he won over his three-year tenure as head coach.
And the same is true for most of the seven (7) additional coaches who got fired on this year’s “Black Monday” (January 5th) …with probably more to come…and one of those (who actually won more games than he lost) enabled me to add a “third way to get fired.”
Bad performance leads to getting fired in many industries…including football.
Being a fan of the New York Jets—a perennial losing franchise–I watch every minute of every game…and when asked the question about MY coach getting fired, I have some credibility (albeit outside looking in…I am not part of team meetings nor am I on the field calling plays).
And to share some additional takes on his firing…and if you’ll allow me, the firing of leaders in general.
I narrowed it down to two specific and fundamental reasons (and now a third), beyond wins and losses, why he was probably not suited to be the head coach in the first place…which eventually led to his firing:
- Accountability: He didn’t create a culture to make sure his players (i.e. employees) were accountable for their actions (especially when they fell short). Examples included not creating consequences for players missing mandatory practices, players making mental mistakes on the field, and players exhibiting conduct not conducive to being a valued teammate and/or winning.
- Decisiveness: Not being decisive on the field (i.e. “his office”), during the most critical moments of a game…specifically, not being able to make quick decisions adequately (i.e. being wrong more than right with those in-game decisions).
This also includes decisions that are not in the moment too…which is about preparation for those moments…and part of the same “decisiveness” issue. - Boredom: While this was not applicable to Saleh, it is applicable to a coach that was just fired and I will get into this in more detail below.
I am not saying that Saleh is not a good football mind or a bad leader of men…but when you are wearing the crown (i.e. head coach, CEO, being the “buck-stops-here leader”), you need to take it up a notch…which this coach was not prepared (or had enough experience) to do.
I am not condemning him for it…it was obvious he wasn’t ready to become the “King” after being a “Prince” for less than a decade (i.e. a successful assistant coach).
And my guess is that he will get another chance…just as many failed CEOs get another job with the benefit of going through trials and tribulations—and failure– the first time around.
This is also true for many entrepreneurs who might go through a bankruptcy only to get back on the horse after experiencing the “benefit of failure” too.
Football is just another business, but unfortunately, it is one that is on full display for millions.
1. On being accountable
In my career…when I became an owner and functional CMO of Boardroom (the company I grew up in over 34 years), I was not prepared to take on a leadership role around making my staff truly accountable.
But I learned over time.
It is a leadership skill anyone can learn…but it doesn’t happen overnight.
Initially I didn’t practice a key fundamental in this area:
”Hire slow and fire fast”
I was a “hire slow and fire even slower” kind of leader. 🙁
But after some painful experiences…for example, hanging on to one employee for 9 years when he was “fireable” in year one…I learned some valuable lessons.
One thing I did was to create trial employee contracts—both sides “trying before buying”—with specific objectives and metrics that would determine if full time employment was in the cards.
And many other ways—learned from my business mentors, books, personal experience—to create accountability metrics for all my employees.
Sounds simple— “why didn’t you figure that out sooner, Brian?”—but those of you who have run companies and staff (both large and small) know that it’s easier said than done.
The fact that I am a nice guy (well I’ve been told that I am!) made it even more difficult to practice a more ruthless flavor of leadership.
At least that is my excuse.
But when I realized that ruthless leadership (i.e. making everyone accountable for their actions, good and bad), equated to survival, I got ruthless…fast.
One more example of this premise in play, going back to football:
There was a player who was a repeat “fumbler” …he couldn’t hold on to the ball (i.e. he fumbled four times in four games) …not a good thing for a football player to do…and the coach had a rule (to stress severe accountability):
If you put the ball on the ground your ass will be put on the bench.
Or something like that. 🙂
Which is what happened.
He also made the benching public…which makes it more severe and consequential…and you must be a confident leader (with the respect of your team/staff) to do it that way.
There have been cases when a situation like this could have resulted in the player’s release from the team (i.e. the player getting fired).
Or a mutiny from the rest of the team.
But this example of ruthless accountability has a happier ending:
When the fumbler eventually returned to the field, after sitting out for a game or two…he had his best game of the season.
In this case at least, message received…and a lesson learned (for both the player and the coach).
2. On leadership through decisiveness
This is a learned skill as well…and equally important.
In football, specifically for coaches and general managers, there are two elements to being decisive:
- When you have a long time to think about things…like picking players in the draft, trading for players, coming up with a game plan each week.
- The decisions you need to make quickly, in the moment, during a game, when you have 30 seconds or less to accept a penalty, challenge a play or call a timeout.
It’s the same in business:
“You have to make a call.”
And the “game” or the “season” (or dare I say your career), depends on those decisions you make…the ones that you have thought about over time (with research, practice, redundancy) …and the ones you need to make when you have 30 seconds to say “go” or “no go.”
I’m mixing football with business here intentionally…because the similarities regarding making decisions as a head football coach have all the same characteristics as a leader of a company.
Also note: The thought-out, highly prepared decisions you make are directly related to the snap decisions you make…you can’t have one without the other.
Your ability to make snap decisions “during the game” …without the repetitions before that moment comes…doesn’t happen by magic.
And the guidance from mentors and those who came before you are all part of the decision-making mix.
In addition, who do you surround yourself with?
For example, if you are a leader who can make quick decisions (in “Kolbe-speak” a “Quick Start”), you need “Fact Finders” and those with excellent follow through as your support group.
You can’t rely on clones of yourself and sycophants to be the most effective leader.
That’s why I also used words like research, practice and redundancy.
Long way of saying, “practice makes perfect.”
And build the right team around you.
To which one of the Xcelerator members on the call over a year ago spoke to the idea of “perfection getting in the way” in high level decision making …at least some of the time.
That is, it might be crucial to make a quick decision without 100% of the facts…and hopefully 60% to 70% of the facts combined with your accumulated business acumen (and a little bit of gut feel and able advisors) will get you the positive result you desire.
When the moment of decision comes, you need to work with what you’ve got.
With expert planning beforehand.
Dare to prepare…as much as humanly possible…but if the buck stops with you, know that you may not be ready in some respects regarding the decision of the moment.
It’s a little different spin…but it’s all part of being a decisive leader, always looking for a win.
For more on this, I encourage you to read the P.S.
3. Boredom
This is shorthand for “it may be time to go.”
I added this element as a third way to get fired after hearing that John Harbaugh, who coached the same team (the Baltimore Ravens) for 18 years, was “fired.”
By the measures of leadership above—creating a culture of accountability, being decisive and winning a lot more than he lost (including one championship)—Harbaugh is as good as it gets (and frankly, I doubt the Ravens will find someone who is a superior coach to Harbaugh).
That’s my opinion and it doesn’t mean that they won’t win even more with a new coach.
But it was still curious.
And whether he was really fired…or left on his own…one thing is clear:
He was done with this gig.
And boredom and the need to find new challenges may be the reason for him leaving.
Only time will tell.
And I will continue to follow his career for all the reasons above…that is, it’s always good practice to follow the leader. 🙂
In closing, I will share what another Xcelerator asked during that amazing call over a year ago… related to leadership, creating accountability and decision making:
What role might your subconscious play in being a culture changer AND an excellent decision maker?
And are some people built for this kind of thing (by genetics, DNA, intuition, magic)?
I won’t dismiss anything…specifically that some people are built for leadership (creating a culture of accountability, making decisions under stress and not overstaying their welcome).
But throughout my career, it comes down to hard won experience in the trenches, learning from your elders and accumulated knowledge—converted to wisdom—which gives you the foundation to being a true results leader.
But magic is always welcome. 🙂
Warmly,
Brian
P.S. The best “magic” is available to you…from me. 🙂
How do you prepare for your decision-making moments with the goal of becoming a better results leader, CEO, marketer, copywriter, entrepreneur, employee?
One thing is universal:
You can’t go it alone.
You need to surround yourself with people who support you, are rooting for you, and will give you ideas to achieve your most extraordinary results.
That’s exactly why I created Titans Xcelerator.
And it has produced amazing success stories.
I encourage you to read about many of those here.
Who has your back when you are on your back?
Who is there for you to share your best ideas with?
Who is available to you to help you get your share of extraordinary results?
I guarantee there are people who will be those “Who’s” for you among the 250 members of the family I call Titans Xcelerator.
Let me prove it to you.
Check it out here.