Sports and Leadership

By Witt Hullander

When we think about great leaders, several images come to mind. We visualize Washington, Lincoln, or even Steve Jobs. What about an athlete like Peyton Manning? Has he ever attempted to pass a law in the Senate? Has he ever made any political persuasion? No, he has not. Has he won a Super Bowl? Yes, he has. Has he won four NFL MVP awards? Yes, he has. Peyton Manning did not do these things out of sheer willpower. He did with them with one part skill and two parts leadership.

As he plays, Manning displays the knowledge and skill that separates him from other players. He reads defenses and changes plays according to the way the defense is lined up. He knows and alerts other teammates when a blitz is coming. He snaps the ball, the blitz comes just as he said, the offensive line picks it up, and Manning finds his target. He leads his teammates down the field doing this over and over again.

Manning’s leadership reveals some very important principles that apply to leadership in companies. Manning, the leader of the offense, is in charge of informing and leading individuals. He leads them, and they follow without question. They trust his judgment in any situation. Trust is the foundation of leadership.

If you’ve watched him, you know Manning also makes mistakes. Throughout his career, he has made bad decisions from incomplete passes, to interceptions, to fumbling the ball – he has made them all. It’s his response afterwards that sets him apart. His ability to go back out there and lead his team down the field for another score, even after a mistake, inspires his teammates. The same goes for leaders in business. Leaders will sometimes “fumble the ball,” if you will. No leader is perfect, and no one makes the correct decision every time. The important thing is the way leaders respond after a bad decision. If leaders dwell on that decision, it will bring him or her down even more. Leaders have to rise up from that mistake and become even better as a result.

While leaders in organizations may not be able to complete passes with extreme accuracy or read complicated defenses, they can increase their knowledge so they know what they’re up against and make necessary adjustments at the blink of an eye. Leaders can learn from Peyton and move on after a mistake with the confidence and poise to handle the next challenge.