If we’re connected on social media, you probably know I’m pretty excited that the Cleveland Browns have broken an 18 year streak by making it to this year’s NFL playoffs.
I’m a lifelong Browns fan. I came by it honest, being indoctrinated into the faith by my parents. It certainly hasn’t been the easiest cross to bear in life. But this coming Sunday, America’s team (yeah I said that) gets a chance to accomplish something truly spectacular. I cannot think of a better set of motivating factors: 1) a chance to knock off your division rival and end their season; 2) advancing to the next round of the playoffs; 3) ending the generational sadness of a great city; and 4) doing it all on their opponent’s home turf. You can almost smell the ink drying on the movie script.
But today, the other foot dropped – we learned that the Head Coach who has made such an impact in his first season, has tested positive for Coronavirus. A coach who won more games in his first NFL season than the venerable Paul Brown himself (I know that’s a wild stat) is sidelined for, arguably, one of the biggest moments in franchise history.
In the wake of the news, there was a predictable slide toward depression across all of #Browns social media discussion. It was pretty dire stuff.
But I’m going to challenge us all to take a moment to think about this news differently. And even if you’re not lucky enough to be a Browns fan, there’s a leadership lesson in this situation for all of us.
The true reflection of sound leadership is how your organization operates in your absence.
This is a lesson drilled into young Marine officers, so I’ve dwelled on this idea for some time now. If you think about your own work, you’ve likely seen examples of this principle, or its opposite, in action somewhere along the way in your career. Organizations can be crippled by cult-like belief in a given individual. When that individual leaves, or gets sidelined temporarily, seemingly expert teams can crumble. If, however, a sound leader has been at the helm, they have undoubtedly invested countless hours and resources to develop their team to operate without them.
As young officers, we trained on this principle to an obsessive degree. Unlike most professions, we all faced a very stark reality that our Marines could have to carry on without us, instantaneously, and while under fire. For a 22 year old training to lead men in combat, that means our live exercises always included scenarios in which key leaders were “killed” in action. We tested the soundness of their leadership potential on the principle that good leaders prepare subordinates to replace them.
In a world where we crave security, job security especially, it could be a foreign concept to some that you would develop your subordinates to carry on without you, and even to exceed your own accomplishments.
But I don’t think we are seeing that dawg-eat-dawg (see what I did there?) approach in the new Browns culture. If I’m sure of absolutely anything about this team without a shred of evidence it’s this: Kevin Stefanski is a sound leader, and has prepared for this eventuality.
I freely admit – this next challenge in the season was going to be tough enough on its own. The Steelers, painful as it is to say yet again, are a really good team. This coming game has too many variables to count. I’m not worried about the end result because I know that this season is still only the beginning. But I am watching for how the team, my team, responds. I’m pretty confident you’re going to see one very locked-in quarterback, let’s see how they do.
In the meantime, evaluate how you’re preparing for the own eventuality within your own life and career. Are you training your replacement? Are you preparing them for the inevitable? Or are you afraid to hand over the reins? I bet this weekend you’ll see a great lesson from Kevin Stefanski.
Go Browns! Good hunting.
Part of the Possible 