Leadership Lessons from a Super Bowl

As a Seattle based author, I will not bow to the temptation to gloat (much) about Sunday's Super Bowl.   Upon reflection, however, I think there are several things worth noting because, again, we can learn from just about anything.

Miscommunication gets everything off to a bad start.   Seattle got an advantage for little effort (translated, made gains at the competitor's expense) due to a miscommunication by the competitor.  In the opening minute, Denver snapped the ball passed Peyton Manning and Seattle got to it for a safety. The only possible explanation seems to be miscommunication.  How often do we give away valuable resources due to internal miscommunication?

And what if Denver let that safety set the tone for the game?     One could argue that Denver never recovered from that unfortunate miscue - that it set the tone for the rest of the game.   Listen, we all make mistakes - we should be judged, however, on our ability to recover and regain leadership.

Seattle's win was not about just one person.   As good as some of Seattle's individual players are, it was not about one person on Sunday - it was a collection of strong individual contributors pulling together.    If you want a diva, hire a diva. . .if you want to win, build a team.

It's not about hiring the "top talent" but instead, hiring the "right talent."   Key contributors in Sunday's victory were not first round draft picks, they were not considered the top of the heap.    They were picked in subsequent rounds because they matched the talent needs that Seattle outlined.   Don't be deceived by someone billed as top talent. . .pick the right talent.

Bruno Mars topped expectations.  And let's talk about half time.      Should the show have been, say, Kanye West, we would have been hearing about it weeks beforehand as if it were forecast in the Book of Revelations.   Bruno Mars, on the other hand, was not over-hyped and he delivered a show that exceeded expectations.       Always put yourself in the position to exceed expectations.

And about Russell Wilson being a "manager" on the field?    Hard for me to believe that this was lobbied as a criticism against the quarterback.    Beyond his own strong performance, he did indeed manage his team. . .the final score was 43-8.  Enough said.

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Brent Frerichs is the author of "Courageous Questions, Confident Leaders," available for e-readers, tablets and PCs on Amazon Kindle.