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“Why Eleven Guys on the Field is Way Too Many”
Published Date : April 10, 2014
For Sand Hill’s annual Forum event in January, our featured speaker was Hall of Fame, and former San Francisco 49ers, quarterback Steve Young. His talk, in which he focused on Leadership, Life and Legacy, was titled “Why 11 Guys on the Field is Way Too Many.” Steve learned firsthand during his 15 seasons as a professional football player about the power of teamwork, the value of accountability in leadership, and the importance of having a committed and passionate vision. Obviously, these qualities matter in business too… as in all walks of life.
The concept behind the title of Steve’s talk is based on advice he once received from randomly sitting next to the late Steve Covey – author of “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” – on an airplane. According to Covey, when it comes to group tasks or assignments, it is simply impossible to control more than seven people at one time, let alone eleven football players on the field. However, even though it’s chaotic and presumably involves too many people, it’s still a worthwhile endeavor to pursue – and hopefully achieve – a collective goal such as winning a Super Bowl. In other words, either strive to be a champion as an individual, or do something meaningful with 10 or even 50 or more people. The analogy obviously applies beyond sports to all sorts of pursuits. Steve also learned—after years of trying “too hard”—that he could not be Joe Montana; he needed to simply be himself. No one can “be” someone else. They can only be the best that they can be, and personal accountability helps make this happen. If necessary though, “Be less accountable, but more responsible.” Also, if one is always looking to improve, “You might lose, but you’ll never be beaten.”
Steve also praised the fundamental approach of his long-time coach, the late Bill Walsh, who emphasized the importance of “integration” of his football teams—especially his fondness for forcing members of the offense and defense to spend considerable time together, to get to know each other, and to ideally like and trust one another. Without such dedicated effort to come together, it was—and always will be—too easy to build “silos” around individual players, which discourages all the players on the team from getting to know each other. While it’s still possible to win with this kind of “solo” behavior it is certainly not ideal. An integrated workforce—in any organization—enables individual “players” to better sense how their teammates/colleagues will behave. Steve described his experience as a slightly “height disadvantaged” quarterback: it meant that he had to learn how to trust his passing game and trust his receivers. Unable to always see down the field, he simply began to sense and trust where his wide-receiver Jerry Rice was going to be.
Ultimately, the 49ers were known to have the best locker room in football – a key component in their sustained success. It was not natural, but it was critical. It took much work and commitment, and eventually provided a key ingredient for winning. So too was accepting responsibility. Steve recalled that early in his career, he would immediately blame someone or something else when he threw an interception. But he came to realize that he needed to “own up to it” and be responsible for his actions. By coupling responsibility with genuine integration, things tended to work out. Teamwork, accountability, and commitment—all so important—and they are the hallmarks of Sand Hill’s partnership with our clients and the many related professionals we strive to serve.
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