The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership

by Bill Walsh

you must recognize their talent and bring forth their potential in a collaborative way.

One of the greatest and most neglected skills in leadership is the ability to listen.

1. Listen 2. Learn 3. Lead”

This comfort zone is dangerous because it creates an often almost imperceptible lowering of intensity, focus, and energy, which leads directly to reduced effort, additional mistakes, and diminished performance.

Effective leaders often have this quality. They understand that if you’re predictably difficult or predictably easygoing, others become predictably comfortable.

but sometimes you have to snarl to remind them of the consequences of straying from your standards.

to eliminate a comfort zone, which can creep into an organization and keep it from pushing on to higher and higher levels.

Leadership requires poise under pressure.

Knowing in advance what I would do in various situations—for example, scripting a game—was insurance that I could stay poised when it counted.

Having a clear idea of what your options are—situational planning—helps you be a leader when leadership is required.

Leadership, at its best, is exactly that: teaching skills, attitudes, and goals (yes, goals are both defined and taught) to individuals who are part of your organization.

the experience of recognizing ability in a person and then teaching that

individual how to reach his potential in ways that helped our team.

In my experience, this is what it takes to be a good teacher: passion, expertise, communication, and persistence.

Passion is a love for the act of teaching itself—believing

you must love the topic you teach.

It is not a duty or burden that you get out of the way so you can move on to “important” things.

It is the important thing.

You do it because you really care for it; you do it because you have to.

“The more you know, the higher you go.”

To advance in any profession, I believe it is imperative to understand all aspects of that profession, not just one particular area:

develop their inventory of skills

A teacher gains expertise by seeking out great teachers, mentors, and other sources of information and wisdom in a relentless effort to add to his or her own knowledge.

(In business this means actively seeking the counsel of those you respect in your profession, as well as studying printed material and publications that you determine will provide pertinent input.)

Successful teaching is a two-way process.

successful teaching requires reception, retention, and comprehension of your message.

The best teaching uses both forms of communicatio...

facial and body language—moving

The goal was to get the team as enthusiastic and excited as I was about the play’s potential.

wanted to convey to the team that what I was offering them was alive, that it had magic in it. I made sure my demeanor conveyed that;

I showed them I really cared.

We did the same drills over and over again; I said essentially the same thing over and over, discussed the same information, concepts, and principles over and over.

Gradually, my teaching stuck.

successful execution became almos...

difference in content depending on whom I was talking to and in what circumstance was always factored in to my teaching.

Know your audience and adjust teaching accordingly

Be observant

“With more sophistication comes more control.”

But you have to start simple and build up to complex by trying different methods, techniques, tricks, etc. No point in developing a teaching process that sucks

increasing its sophistication—the

Sophisticated style and process...but your communication must remain clear, concise, organized, and simple...

Looking back, perhaps the lesson I would draw is this:

If you don’t love it, don’t do it.