At the risk of being an armchair quarterback (er…coach), I’d like to run through the game film of the recent reinstatement of the head football coach, Todd Hoffner at Minnesota State – Mankato. The value of reviewing game film is to see what plays were executed well so the team can repeat them, and what didn’t go so well to look for improvement. The game film reveals some areas of opportunity. This has nothing to do with the decision of reinstatement, rather the way in which leadership decided to handle the change.

Leadership is more than having the ability to design and call plays, and it’s more than being able to teach fundamentals. It’s the flawless execution of a play that produces points on the scoreboard and high fives on the sidelines. That can only happen when everyone understands where they’re going, what their role is, and who they can believe in as their leader. True leadership is the ability to influence others so that they actually want to do what’s needed. This requires the masses to believe in the vision and those leading. Transparency, authenticity, team approach and clear communication are all required.

Here are the things I saw missing from the game film and how to better run a flawless leadership play:

-Be clear in why change is occurring and create a vision for the future. There was an opportunity here for both the interim and head coaches to focus on being united and committed to building on the success the team has had over the last two years.

-Engage key stakeholders first. Those who actually do the work need to be brought into the change process early so they can help trouble shoot, get questions answered, maybe improve solutions. Informing and working with the players before, during, and after the announcement could have prevented the refusal to participate in spring practice.  Leaders didn’t engage with them first to get buy-in.

-Communicate internally before externally. The organization should know about change before the general public. When leaders forget the importance of clearly and consistently communicating vision and key messages to their most important audience  – employees or in this case, the students, coaching staff and players – before the general public, it almost always ends in a PR disaster. 

-Make it about the team, not you. True leaders know it’s not about them, it’s about the people who have chosen to follow and who make it all possible. The press conference could have been used to show a united front between the interim and reinstated head coaches, instead of the personal trauma. It’s not about you as a leader, it’s about what the team is setting out to achieve.

These are leadership skills that can be learned.  Awareness is the first step, then a commitment to improving. We work with leaders on leveraging their individual effectiveness to better lead through change. We make it easier to know the play to call when the game is on the line.