Key Lessons for Business Leaders from Players and Coaches

Last week, I attended two celebratory banquets, one for the Georgetown women’s basketball program and one for the Georgetown women’s soccer program. The women’s basketball program had a very successful season, just losing to top seeded UConn in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Similarly, the women’s soccer program remarkably defeated Maryland and Minnesota on their respective home fields, eventually losing to Ohio State, again on their home field, in the Elite Eight of the NCAA championship.

While I do not generally compare sports coaches or military leaders to business leaders, there are certainly some lessons to be gained in particular leadership categories, and there were some that I took away from these banquets that I’d like to share.

The basketball banquet began with a prayer before the meal, a prayer of thanks for the wins and losses, ups and downs, the disappointments and the elations, the opportunity to play together with a common goal, to learn and grow together, and the strong friendships that were forged.

The team spoke of their attitude of wanting to be well prepared by working harder than the competition, being smart, and having pride. The young women also spoke about having high GPAs and learning to think critically, and that, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog!” They want to be the meanest, yet happiest team. Their competitive spirit was shining through, and yet they spoke of heart, how much that means, and their caring for one another. Finally, they talked of the fun they had together; for example, one player, with tongue in cheek, asked her teammate “Where do flies go in the winter?” and they all laughed out loud.

The players were most appreciative of their coaches, expressing genuine love for the coaches caring so much for them, for challenging them, and for all they do for them.

And, much to my satisfaction, Coach Terri Flournoy, “Coach Flo” and Coach Keith Brown each spoke about the evolution of coaching—that today a coach must listen to her team members, which wasn’t done much in the past. Yes, of course, first and foremost, players must listen to coaches, unquestionably, but the opposite is true as well. And most certainly listening is what great business leaders also do!

The coaches spoke specifically with great admiration for the senior leadership of the team, the team’s spirit of believing in themselves and in their thinking that that they are great, and can and must become even greater.

Coach Flo does not believe in an MVP award, as she greatly appreciates and values all 13 team members and stands by everyone playing a very important role. That reminded me of two great organizations I worked with, Johnson & Higgins and Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, which did not recognize superstars, but rather great teammates. Coach Flo also spoke about quiet confidence and about being out in the community, helping others, which, again, are important principles to those of us in business.

This same spirit of deep appreciation by the coaches for the dedication of the team members was also greatly evident at the soccer banquet. Coach Dave Nolan, with a big smile on his face, proclaimed, “This year I was a great coach, thanks to you all. You made me a great coach by all your great work!”

Oh, how I wish more senior managers in business understood what Coach Nolan does, i.e., that more credit for success should go the people actually doing the work!

My key takeaways for business leaders from these coaches and players are summarized below. No question, these principles are the right things to do and will help us and our teams become more successful! I hope that you try them out this week!

• Everyone is important
• A leader listens to her team members
• Try to be better everyday
• Have pride and be fiercely competitive as a team, and have fun together
• Have quiet confidence
• Help others do great work themselves
• Give credit for success where it belongs, to those who really do the work
• Be a presence in the community