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Seven Rings and Seven Leadership Lessons

by Ellie Eckhoff, CPCC, PCC / SVP of Talent Consulting & Executive Coach

I wrote my first Leadership Lessons from the Patriots in 2017, repeated it in 2018 and 2019. Couldn’t do it in 2020. The 2021 season was different – what else is new?

Truth be told, I didn’t watch as many Patriots games this season as I had each of the past 20 seasons. More truth, I did catch a few Buccaneers games. I was rooting for Tom and Team – most of my Patriots pals were not.

Here are 7 leadership lessons I observed this season:

  1. There may not be an “I” in teams, but there is a “T” in TALENT. Talent gets the job done. Do what you can to retain top talent, but you must also plan for the future by making sure you are developing strong successors.
  2. Tom transformed the team. “A” players recruit and develop other “A” players. The 4 standouts played and won together before. He brought his success system with him.
  3. Winning is a repeatable event. The crushing 31-9 final score was a team win. Tom Brady won over the other players, the coaches, owners, fans and at this point, I’m thinking all of Tampa adores him. Put the right players in the right positions on the field at the right time with a winning mindset and bingo – another championship.
  4. Confidence is contagious. “We knew this was going to happen” were words spoken out loud when TB12 accepted the Lombardi Trophy. How many times did he and the Buccaneers say that to each other before February 7th? To themselves? Controlling the mental chatter in our minds and envisioning what you want makes a difference. In coaching, we call that the sage voice. Some people make up a flashier name for their sage. What are you saying to and about yourself?
  5. Get over the age thing. (Or age before beauty unless you have both!) Tom Brady is 43 years old and Coach Arians is 68 years old. They are not the youngest on the field, but let’s not forget that with age also comes experience and experience matters.
  6. Use your stage to make a statement. The NFL used its grandest stage to say thank you to 7,500 frontline healthcare heroes. The league and the 32 teams treated all 7,500 vaccinated healthcare workers to a Super Bowl weekend. That’s a good memory – and an important statement in our time.
  7. Be bold and decisive, by saying something like “We’re coming back.” Yes, Brady and Gronk made that crystal clear. They had fun, got the job done and have more work to do. One will be 44, the other 2 years out of retirement – Something to be said for life in Florida!

 

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