We Can Learn a Lot about Total Leadership…

…From the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers.

As is tradition, the February issue of this newsletter highlights the reigning Super Bowl champions. Hopefully, the mere title of this newsletter does not cause most of my hometown Chicago readers to automatically delete this file before reading at least a few sentences! While the intensity of the Packers-Bears rivalry marches on, we can glean leadership lessons from the way the Packers became only the second team seeded last in the playoffs to go on to win the Super Bowl. As I watched the playoffs unfold, the back-stories kept taking me back to the Total Leadership Model described as the alignment of organizational strategy with its people and processes to fully engage the organization with the expressed outcome to create loyal clients.

Strategically, the Packers mantra for the season was adaptability. They had the most players on injured reserve (15) of any NFC Team in the league last season. They made the playoffs seeded last, meaning they would have to play three games on the road just to get to the Super Bowl. That meant their strategy would have to take those realities into account to achieve the desired result of winning the Super Bowl. How many leaders today misjudge their competition due to changes in the competitive landscape or mentally defeat their efforts because the competitors are bigger, better funded or both? Effective strategies are built on accurate assessments of the external environment and of the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. For the Green Bay Packers, these strategies and associated philosophies generated more championships than any other team in the league including four Super Bowl titles.

In the Total Leadership Model, People Development and Process Improvement are aligned to support the organization’s strategy. For the Packers, this meant fielding skilled players (changing week-to-week due to injuries) and processes (play-calling to optimize the changing roster) to support and align with the current strategy. In any business, the people and processes may fluctuate over time. The real differentiator in success is Attitude, especially down the stretch. Much is made of home-field advantage in sports and it could be argued the Packers were not always the most talented all around team on the field in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas. In the end, it was the team that believed in themselves the most that carried the day, even when two more of their starters, and emotional leaders, were lost to injury in the first half of the championship game. Successful leaders create and execute strategies to optimize the strengths of their people in full alignment with the core processes they use in their businesses.

Total Leadership is about creating loyal clients through engaged employees. It is in this regard the Packers are unique among NFL teams. Despite playing in the smallest NFL market, they have one of the largest fan bases in the sport and have more names on their season ticket waiting list than there are actual seats in Lambeau Field where they play. Leaders may talk about client loyalty but fewer put forth the time and level of effort required to create this level of loyalty and pride in their organizations. Engaged employees are the basis for creating loyal clients, concepts that look much like the traditional training camp bike rides and Family Nights of the Green Bay Packers.

I had lunch last week with a business owner who created a very successful business after coming to the U.S. over twenty years ago. When I mentioned the topic of this month’s newsletter she told me about how, in her frequent travels, she carries a book about Vince Lombardi to read his quotes and philosophies whenever she flies. What will it take for you to generate that level of loyalty and be the champions of your business?

Lead Well.