Quarterbacks Learn from Quarterbacks…
Fall is in the air and football season has started. As a football fan, I love this time of year. The new football season brings a renewed energy and a togetherness with family and friends. Everyone seems to cheer for a favorite team, root for the underdog, or just wants to be at the tailgate to connect with others. For me, it’s about the stories. I love the stories. The stories about walk on players, and the stories of new beginnings. The stories of hope and the stories of perseverance. The stories of challenges and the stories of breakthroughs. It’s all about the stories.
Recently, I watching a roundtable interview with several quarterbacks including Bret Favre, Tom Brady, and others. During this interview, Tom was sharing a story about a time he worked out with Hall of Fame Quarterback Peyton Manning. Tom talked about Peyton’s structured workouts, and how he would line up for certain plays, and when something wasn’t working, how he would audible to a different play or designed route for his receivers. When Tom returned home, he shared one of the plays with his offensive coordinator Bill Obrien and asked him to add the play or protection during the game. He then went on to call this play and have tremendous success throwing the ball to receiver Rob Gronkowski.
Now this is a great story, but here was the takeaway. Tom then shared, “quarterbacks learn from other quarterbacks”. Wait - what? Now, this isn’t earth shattering news, but it’s big! Think about it… Who are you learning from? Do you have an opportunity to go workout with the CEO or CHRO? What plays are they running to start their day – how do they think? What about roundtables with other salespeople. I remember when I started attending different networking events in the HR and Mobility space and seeing a lot of salespeople in the room. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I got a front row seat to watch how some of the best showed up to the meeting and how they connected with others. It wasn’t about what I could get from the meeting, but what I could learn. When I realized this, I doubled down on my learning. It’s what shaped my approach to my every day.
Since then, I have studied great salespeople. I have studied books. I have studied my customers (who are incredible leaders), and others in my community. I have studied leaders in our company and business partners in volunteer organizations. This is where the growth is. When I was a young manager, I worked for a leader that shared open book financials. I always wondered why he did this. Why he would share so openly – what if someone gets this information? People would fly into Dallas from around the country to learn from him and the strategies he used to operate his company. Today, I realize how others used the “Tom Brady” approach to learn from this great leader. What’s fascinating is they were already great leaders, but they knew that they didn’t know everything, and they could learn something.
It's true – the more we give the more we get. But I would also add the more we learn the more we can give…. and there is so much to learn on this great journey. The question I want to ask you is – who are you learning from? Are you investing time with someone in the workplace? What about outside the workplace? What can we take and put in our playbook - so we can be a better leader a better salesperson, a better mom/dad, volunteer, and more to serve others around us. Quarterbacks learn from quarterbacks… and we can all learn from others having success – we just need to have the courage to take that first step and ask! It’s time to change lanes so we can make the most out of our journey!
Call to action: Who is having success around you? It may be time to let them know how much you admire them and to connect for a visit. Maybe it’s time to go outside the workplace and get involved in your local association. Go ahead – you’ll be glad you did.
This is “Move to Inspire” with Bruce Waller! For more information, call 972-389-5673, or email bwaller@goarmstrong.com or check out my social media Facebook and Twitter page. Also, check out www.BruceWaller.com to review my leadership books “Life in the Leadership Lane”, “Find Your Lane” or pick up a copy of my journal “Milemarkers” to start recording your everyday. All books are available on amazon. Be sure to subscribe to my YOUTUBE channel to watch the video podcasts and other messages to help you lead in the workplace! “Life in the Leadership Lane podcast is available on your favorite podcast platform including APPLE, GOOGLE, and SPOTIFY. Interested in a book club? Join our book club “CLIMB” on Facebook.
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