For those who have not read the book Good to Great by Jim Collins, the first principle or character trait of a Level 5 Leader is this “First get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) before you figure out where to drive it.
“First who” is a very simple idea to grasp, and very difficult to do – and most don’t do it well. In Good to Great, they noted that the Level 5 Leaders “get the right people on the bus” AND “build a superior executive team”. They also emphasize that Good to Great doesn’t happen overnight as a company OR Professional Football team assembles their respective “team or bus”.
San Francisco 49ers:
The 49ers had a 2-14 record in 2016-2017 and decided to make some moves to “build a superior executive team” adding Kyle Shanahan as their head coach in 2017 and John Lynch as their GM. Both individuals had no prior experience in those roles (but they both were on teams that made it to the Super Bowl before, Shanahan as OC with the Falcons, Lynch as player with Tampa Bay).
Now with a “superior executive team in place” they proceeded to assemble their team. They went on to make many moves (trades, drafts, free agents), including the trade with New England for Jimmy Garoppolo (QB), arguably a key missing piece in the rebuilding of their team from in this case “bad” to “great”.
It’s interesting to note, that all the NFL teams could have theoretically made the same deal for Garoppolo, but only the 49ers made the deal, why? It seems reasonable and simple to see that it had everything to do with the fact they first put a “superior executive team in place” (a GM and Head coach that were obviously aligned, same page, same vision). It seems so obvious, yet so many other teams passed (obvious since he was being mentored by Tom Brady and influenced by Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels).
They end up with a 6-10 record in 2017-2018 (Garoppolo only plays the last 6 games, with a 5-1 record). In 2018-2019, Garoppolo only plays 3 games before suffering a season ending ACL injury.
This is worth noting, when one understands and is committed to their team, even when there are temporary setbacks (the same happens in a business, when good to great is not a straight linear path). Prior to having a “superior executive team” they may have made quick, rash decisions that appeared to be good “short term” but not aligned with a long-term vision.
Results:
The 49ers are in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2012. No one can predict their future, but it appears they are in a “Good to Great” transition, with Level 5 Leadership in place. They have a young franchise QB in Garoppolo and a bright future ahead, all because they realized that they first had to get the right people in their organization and let those individuals lead and execute!
Kansas City Chiefs:
The Chiefs situation is much different than the 49ers, but it still applies, as one can make the case they had already assembled a “superior executive team”, and that team subsequently made one move (they made many moves) that made the difference from a “good team, playoff team” into a “Super Bowl team”.
The Chiefs made a decision in the 2017 to trade up from the 27th pick to the 10th pick for Patrick Mahomes. I think this drat move is important for two reasons that “Good to Great” organizations/teams understand and frequently assess, which are:
1) They already by most opinions, a very good quarterback in Alex Smith (who was 33 at the time, and had a record of 50-26).
2) In the NFL, as is the case in business, good is not great! The Chiefs obviously felt they needed to make a move, and that move was to trade Alex Smith and draft Mahomes.
It seems so simple and obvious, yet 9 other teams passed on Patrick Mahomes and others did not see his potential (and trade up like the Chiefs did to take him). Sometimes the simplest decisions turn out to be the ones that “great teams make and good/mediocre teams don’t”
Results:
It is very, very early in Patrick Mahomes career, but the first 2 seasons indicate he might be a future HOF Quarterback. If that is the case, they may very well be positioned to be at the top of the NFL for many years to come.
This is all possible because they have an excellent leadership group that had goals (win a Super Bowl) that were not met to date. They realized that changes were required (you cannot do the same things, with the same people and expect different results).
Key takeaways:
In any organization/team, it starts at the top! If you want to be great you must find and build a “superior executive team”.
Importance of the “first who then what principle”, you build your team first before getting too far into strategies, tactics, etc.
Keep it simple and look at others that have been where you want to go (i.e. New England Patriots have accomplished their results due to constants in leadership at all levels of the organization, same owner, same coach, same QB!).
You have to constantly assess your team and the results. IF you are not achieving the desired results, you have to acknowledge this and make changes (seems simple, but without humility, self-awareness and brutally honest assessments, many teams stay at the good or less levels for many, many years).
Even at times of chaos/failure (see 49ers 2016-2017 season), a team can make changes that result in a 180 degree turn from a “chaos/failure/losing” to “discipline/team/winning” culture.
Where is your team today, are you lagging or leading, winning or losing? Is your team moving from “Good to Great” or moving from “Good to Mediocre”?
Authored By: Dave Phillips, President