How Owner Pat Bowlen Created a Winning Culture at the Denver Broncos

Post update: On Feb 7th, 2016 the Denver Broncos won Super Bowl 50. 

Culture is key to creating long-term sustainable success. As the legendary leadership guru, Peter Drucker once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast any day.” 

This Super Bowl marks the Denver Bronco’s eighth Super Bowl, and the seventh under the ownership of Pat Bowlen, who bought the team in 1984. In 2014, due to Alzheimer’s, Bowlen stepped down from the management of the team.  I asked my friend, Brittany Bowlen, to help us understand her father’s legacy and the culture that her father had fostered and stewarded.

Sanyin Siang: Brittany, can you tell us a bit about the culture of the Denver Broncos and how your dad fostered this?

Brittany Bowlen: The culture that my father instilled within the Broncos starts with the fact that people are his priority. Every day, he consciously chose to park in the back of the Denver Broncos’ training facility and walk through the training, equipment and operations areas before going to his office. He always wanted to have the pulse of the team and understood that these departments, while maybe not the most prominent, were vital to the success of the Broncos.

‘It’s not about me’ is a phrase that I’ve heard my father say countless times—he always wanted others to get the credit and always respected their opinions, regardless of title. I believe the positive, inclusive culture that he built within his team helped it earn the respect of this community and the entire league.

Siang: By respecting everyone everyone on the team, your dad also earned everyone’s deep respect. He also enabled them to perform at their best. You once shared a quote with me that I found compelling – “Other people’s thoughts are more important than your own assumptions.” Can you tell us a bit more what this means and why it’s so important to the team’s success?

Bowlen: I think this idea—putting others’ thoughts before our own assumptions—is one of the most thoughtful things my father modeled throughout his ownership. To fulfill this, at the core for him was conducting himself with honesty, integrity and humility at all times. He tried to surround himself with good people, trusted them and provided them the resources to be successful.

When he purchased the Broncos, my father understood he was not going to have all the answers and needed to learn from those people already involved with the team. To this day, many of those same people are still working with the organization. Even at the highest parts of his career, when he was negotiating billion dollar labor and television deals, he still worked hard to earn the respect of others by valuing their opinions and relying on them.

He believes that a key factor to healthy relationships is mutual respect, and this translates to the entire Broncos’ organization. That’s why he gave people so much flexibility in the way they wanted to do their jobs. As an owner, he believed the only way you can improve and learn is by valuing the thoughts and opinions of others.

Sanyin: In our leadership work, trust is the linchpin for leadership. To build that trust, leaders need to know and understand their people and demonstrate that they genuinely care. Your dad was able to build this and empower those around him. Can you share with us how he did that?

Bowlen: A story that I love is one that Joe Ellis, president and chief executive officer of the Denver Broncos, sometimes shares about my father. During an away game, Matt Lepsis, one of the team’s offensive linemen, had his wife go into labor with a possibility of complications. To help Matt get back to Denver as soon as possible, my father asked him to fly back with him on his private plane. He spent the entire plane ride trying to put Matt at ease, telling him everything would be OK and listening to any concerns he had. It’s stories like that that demonstrate how deeply he cares for people.

Another story I love is one a player told me about my father pushing a laundry cart filled with frozen turkeys and putting one in each player’s locker for Thanksgiving. He doesn’t talk about trust much, but I think it was his actions—not words—that built a culture of trust within the Broncos’ organization. He constantly demonstrated that he cared about everyone and had their back. That quality was contagious throughout all areas of the team.

Siang: It’s clear that your dad has also been a tremendous mentor for you. Can you share with us some of the lessons that you’ve learned from him?

Bowlen: During the past few weeks leading up to Super Bowl 50, there have been a lot of conversations and stories about my dad’s legacy from the people he mentored. Those conversations have mostly included people who knew him in a working capacity. I’m excited to share a perspective of a family member because I not only see him as a business leader but also as an incredibly kind and thoughtful father. Because of his thoughtfulness, it was easy and natural to learn from him.

In addition to the importance of treating everyone with respect and striving to understand others, he also taught my siblings and I how to compete the right way and always have fun doing it. He’s a serious businessman, but never took himself too seriously.

He’s got a tremendous sense of humor. I think this is one of the most important things I personally learned from my father: It’s great to set goals and to push yourself to achieve them but what is even more important is having some fun doing it.

Siang: Something we had talked about in prior conversations is the power of sports to bring about positive societal change. You passionately believe that. That has to come from somewhere. What have you experienced that led to that belief?

Bowlen: Growing up I constantly watched my parents get involved in the community. My father would often say that the team was a public trust, and that’s how he approached his role and responsibility with the Denver Broncos. My parents view sports, particularly football, as catalysts for real positive change on individuals and communities. My father understood the tremendous emotional, financial and time investment fans put into the team. As a result, he believed in the great importance of continually doing sustainable work for the community.

When cornerback Darrent Williams was murdered in downtown Denver, my father wanted to make sure that his tragic death did bring some positive change in the community. He led the founding of the Darrent Williams Memorial Teen Center at the Denver Broncos Boys & Girls Club. The center now serves 1,200 youth and has increased high school graduation rates. This community has provided such incredible support of the Broncos through the years, and my father wanted to do everything he could to return that support whenever possible.

Winning defined my father’s ownership on the field, but the work he did off the field was equally as important.

Siang: Thank you for this personal look at the Denver Broncos, Brittany. These are not only wonderful stories, they are great examples that illustrate the power of genuine care, trust, and respect for others in leading for enduring impact.

 Sanyin Siang is the Executive Director of the Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics (COLE), a leadership laboratory  at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.   Sanyin writes about leadership, innovation, and mentorship.   For more stories like this one, click the follow button at the top of this post.