The Score Takes Care of Itself: My Philosophy of Leadership

by Bill Walsh

Rank, titles, or inferred status can impede open communication in an environment where people thrive on helping one another. Here’s

Coach Newell did lots of things right, but I was particularly intrigued by his ability to keep individuals sharp and on their toes—to keep them from falling into a mental comfort zone, which can occur when the person in charge becomes too predictable.

People say there are winners and losers in life.

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.

Passion is a love for the act of teaching itself—believing in your heart that it is not a means to an end, but an end in itself.

The greater your expertise, the greater your potential to teach, the stronger and more productive you can be as a leader.

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.

passion, expertise, communication, and persistence are the four essentials of good teaching and learning,

Remember Sun-tzu: “With more sophistication comes more control.” The

The most important attribute of any organization is the way it treats its people, its commitment to the individuals on the team.

Assigning complete control without any monitoring of methods or means can allow a separate kingdom to develop, which will split your organization into factions.

Here’s what a big ego is: pride, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-assurance . Ego is a powerful and productive engine. In fact, without a healthy ego you’ve got a big problem.

In evaluating people, I prize ego. It often translates into a fierce desire to do their best and an inner confidence that stands them in good stead when things really get rough.

I believe that character-based leaders tend to seek and attract character-based employees in sports, in business, or anywhere else.

Humor is often a sign of being removed from the focus and commitment necessary to do the job well—a casual attitude about a serious endeavor.

Pretty soon you’re on overload while very talented people in the organization are being underutilized.