Super Lessons from the Super Bowl

The countdown is on for the biggest sporting event of the year - Super Bowl XLVII (that’s 47 for those of us who didn’t study Latin in high school). I’ll admit to enjoying the game and its many distractions, including those expensive commercials. According to the ratings experts I won’t be the only one watching as billions of people around the world will be glued to the set, or using the occasion as an excuse to party.

If the game lives up to all the hype, each team will come prepared to play their best and the contest will be close and exciting. Leaders on and off the field will likely influence what takes place and there are a few key lessons any leader can learn from watching each game plan unfold.

Most teams script their first offensive series and it will be interesting to see how each team’s coach attempts to exploit the perceived weaknesses of their opponent. Have they accurately assessed the other team’s defensive tendencies from watching hours of film? Will their own players execute effectively enough to achieve success? How prepared will they be when that unexpected mistake is made or key injury is suffered?

Regardless of the halftime score, adjustments will be necessary if a lead is to be maintained or a deficit overcome. Here is where team leaders are often critical, especially if your team is trailing at the game’s midpoint. While a coach can influence players during these conversations it is often a teammate, recognized as a leader on and off the field, whose voice matters most. It is these leaders who have been on the field, experiencing the successes or failures, so they can place their advice or passion in context. Their credibility is enhanced because they have been part of the action.

When the game is over one set of leaders will be celebrating a victory while the others must assess what went wrong. It will be easy for the winners to lose perspective and fail to acknowledge the role that everyone played on and off the field. The losers may also be unwilling to admit their own shortcomings and accept responsibility for how their actions may have influenced the outcome.

Every day in your organization, a similar scenario takes place. No, it isn’t a contest on the scale of the Super Bowl but it will have many similar leadership lessons. How well have you assessed the capabilities of your team and coached them to do their best? Are the projects now underway in need of a halftime adjustment and will you allow team members to offer their input? When proposals are accepted or rejected how do you behave and what do you learn from these experiences? When the team wins or fails what is your response?

It seems fitting that an event dubbed the Super Bowl should teach some super lessons about leadership. What insights, beyond the ones I just described, did you learn? Sorry, details about the commercials or what Beyoncé was wearing during the halftime show don’t count.