The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently

by Tony Dungy

It’s not that we didn’t work plenty of hours, they were able to assure their friends; we just tried to be smart about it and not spend time at the office just for the sake of spending time at the office so that someone would think we were doing a good job. We all know the amount of time spent is not necessarily an indicator of success. Now that I’ve retired from coaching, I can only hope that my former colleagues will carry on what they saw me model—working hard, but living a life in balance.

Mentoring is a direct, one-on-one relationship. As such, it has the potential to cut into your time significantly. You can lead without mentoring, by choosing not to become engaged with your group; but mentor leadership requires a deliberate decision to get involved in someone else’s life. So, no question, it takes time; but it will make an incredible difference in your organization and will establish a legacy that will pay dividends long after you’re gone.

It was then I began to realize that spending time one-on-one with individual coaches and players—growing them and nurturing them—wasn’t contrary to a team-first approach. As a matter of fact, it caused the team concept to prosper.

You will also be known by your faith. We all believe in something—even atheists do. But how passionately do you believe what you believe? In a world increasingly filled with people who are more pragmatic than committed, our faith will mark and define us for others to see—and follow. People are naturally drawn to believe in something larger than themselves, and they will follow someone whose life reflects a consistent commitment to higher values.

I knew that, but I believed that God would ultimately decide where I would be and what I would be doing.

“When you’re a teacher, you talk when you teach. You don’t talk during the test.”

“Leaving them is not something I’m ecstatic about, to be sure. I’m sorry Nancy has to parent alone for a year—hopefully it’s just a year.” He was fully aware that the prior JAG officer attached to the Third Armored was in constant combat, and that other officers in that regiment had been killed in the last deployment. “But my kids do need to understand the importance of a call. If you’re called to do something—committed to following through on your words—then sometimes, that is bigger than what we want to do. I hope my children grow up understanding that God may call them to do things that take them out of their comfort zone to benefit someone else.”

As a person, as a parent, as a leader, do you espouse values of having a life, family, team, or organization that is consistent with your words and actions and in line with God’s direction? Are you leading your organization with long-term goals in mind that are in line with God’s thoughts? Make sure that your actions mirror your words. If they don’t, there’s no surer way to a credibility gap and resulting crisis of confidence for those who follow you. Be the role model that God created you to be for others. Be the message that He intended for you to be to all the world. It may just be that someone needs that message, that model, that example at this very moment.

Frankly, when you’re in a crisis, it’s too late to try to get people to follow you—unless you have already demonstrated faith and confidence in noncrisis times.

Remember, in times of crisis people will follow those with character. Not competence or authority, but character

His goal was—and still is—to educate them about life well beyond the basketball court. He wants to point them toward successful, significant lives. Every day of his life, he continues to shape, develop, and write his legacy through the lives of his players, just as he’s done for the last four decades. By influencing his players, other coaches, staff members, and teachers, he has succeeded in creating other mentor leaders.

That’s how we should be too. Looking for lives to change and hearts to impact, that we might model the message of the mentor leader, leaving a legacy of changed lives and a better world, day by day, one life at a time.

“We need leaders of inspired idealism, leaders to whom are granted great visions, who dream greatly and strive to make their dreams come true; who can kindle the people with the fire from their own burning souls.”[5]

Chuck Noll was very clear on this point. His aim was to create a specific culture in everything he did and in the way he did it—the Steeler Way. A player didn’t have to be the biggest, fastest, or strongest at his position, and a coach didn’t have to be the smartest or most creative, as long as everyone bought in to the Steeler Way. Coach Noll believed that our culture in Pittsburgh was unique, and he wanted people who would stick with the program and not try to implement ideas from other NFL clubs. One of the reasons we were able to win four Super Bowls in the 1970s was that every Steeler believed and bought into the team culture. And three decades later, the Steeler Way is still working—and winning—in Pittsburgh.

How we respond to advice, correction, and constructive criticism makes all the difference: Mockers hate to be corrected, so they stay away from the wise. A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit. A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash. PROVERBS 15:12-14

As a leader, you’ll be rewarded when your group achieves its goals—and you should expect to be rewarded. But those rewards can’t be your primary motivation. You have to derive satisfaction from seeing your group flourish and achieve its goals and to see everyone reap the benefits of that success.

Teamwork doesn’t tolerate the inconvenience of distance.

And just because we’ve gone through the process once doesn’t mean we won’t have to do it again.

As Chuck told me when I started coaching, stubbornness is only a virtue if you’re right. When you’re wrong, it’s just another character flaw. His genius was in knowing when he was right.