Three Leadership Lessons from 49ers GM John Lynch | The GM Journey

In my latest episode of The GM Journey, I ventured to Santa Clara, California, to spend some time with #49ers General Manager John Lynch. A Hall of Famer, Super Bowl champion, nine-time Pro Bowl selection, and former NFL on FOX color commentator, John has had a fascinating journey to assuming the GM role with the Niners in 2017. He shared with me the inside stories of how he became interested in becoming a GM, how he connected with Kyle Shanahan, and much more.

You can listen to the full episode here.

Here are three leadership lessons from John that stuck with me after our conversation. Let me know which part of the episode you enjoyed the most!

1. You have to advocate for yourself and what you want.

John never really thought about the general manager role until years after his playing career ended, when he became fascinated by front office operations through his relationship with John Elway and his broadcasting work on FOX. An unexpected phone call with Kyle Shanahan ended up changing everything, ultimately resulting in the 49ers job offer.

2. The vision has to come first.

Once John and Kyle became the new GM-head coach duo in San Francisco, one of the first things they did was challenge themselves to identify what their belief system was going to be for the organization. John believed it was extremely important for them - as the new leaders of the franchise - to be able to articulate their vision and core philosophies in order for that vision to serve as the "north star" for the rest of the organization.

"One of the best things we did was really challenge ourselves with, 'What is our belief system?' We're coming and taking over this proud franchise, and we're going to hire great staff, and that's all very important, but if we're not able to articulate our vision for building that championship organization, then it's hard for people to follow us."

John also shared the behind-the-scenes story of how they fine tuned their vision, which included working with a former professor of John's.

"We even called on a professor - I'd taken a class at Stanford called Decision Analysis, and one of the great things in that class was they taught you how to build a vision statement. This professor, Burke Robinson, who had run big companies, taught about writing that effective vision statement. And I said, 'Kyle, we need to put to paper - not just on a surface level - what do we believe is going to take this place back to prominence?' And we called on Burke Robinson, and we sat in our draft room...and we started, this professor just throwing questions at us. And we came out with this vision statement, and it was all for our first Draft, and that's really our guiding principle now. It's a document, but it's more than that. It's what we believe."

3. You have to know how to move on from mistakes.

John made a great point about every leadership role having its fair share of both wins and mistakes, and the importance of knowing how to move on instead of becoming too caught up in one moment or decision. It's a lesson he learned as a standout NFL player and it's a lesson he continues to carry with him now as a general manager.

"Back to my experiences playing defensive back, you know, in our league you better be able to move on from success or from disappointment. I played with some unbelievable [players] and when Warren Sapp would miss a tackle, the linebackers are there to clean it up, and then the backs are there to clean up. When I miss a tackle, that thing was out the door 80 yards, and so you have to live with that - when you screw up the whole world knows it. Well, that's kind of like being a GM. When you screw up or make a decision that doesn't work out, [you ask], 'Did we make it for the right reasons? What can I learn from it?' But don't sit there and say, 'I'm never making a move again' and become paralyzed."

Thanks to John for joining the pod and sharing so many great insights and stories.

Our next guest on The GM Journey: Philadelphia Eagles General Manager Howie Roseman! #FlyEaglesFly

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