White 80!

It is always fascinating to learn from real-life stories. The stories we read, listen to and watch are very powerful and convincing. I had a similar experience of such an instance while watching “American Underdog” last weekend. The movie is about the inspirational story of first undrafted National Football League (NFL) MVP and Hall of Fame quarterback ‘Kurt Warner’. It is a fantastic movie delivering a heart-moving story of his perseverance, commitment, and determination to be one of the greatest American Footballers of all time. But what caught my attention is the role of quarterback in the game of football. I was pondering over it and reflecting upon to understand what it takes to be a quarterback and what we can learn to harness our skills to be a better #leader.

In the game of speed, strength, and agility quarterback is the most celebrated and scrutinized position as their success and failure directly impacts a team's winning chances. They are the elite group of athletes that emerged through the grinding process of 1.1 million aspiring footballers to 0.8% of them getting drafted in the NFL to select few to be a quarterback. They are groomed to be the leader of offence with enormous capability to take the responsibility by strategizing for calling the play to run during a huddle or sometimes take a call on-the-go to accelerate or maintain the tempo.

There are many #leadership traits one can learn from the role of quarterbacks and here are the top 5 learning takeaways for me

?Knowing the ground reality?– Awareness is the beginning of a successful journey. Be it sport or work, it doesn’t matter. You are always as strong as your knowledge of the rules and the landscape, working atmosphere (culture and values), strengths of your teammates and weakness of your competitors.???

Better anticipation?– Often a quarterback throws the ball with the anticipation that the catcher could make it on time to catch the ball. This is an invaluable skill and contributes significantly to be the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of a season. ‘Better anticipation’ is a necessary trait to be an effective leader given the uncertainty, volatility and the speed at which business environments are disrupted. A visionary leader in anticipation of future shapes up thoughts and takes initiatives to make the business and people future ready.

Performing under pressure?– The performance delivered at a time when the odds are not in favor counts the most because it demonstrates the mental toughness and unwavering motivation to make a difference. There are always multitudes of pressures, and we live in a highly competitive world where the depth and width of talent is not a scarcity. So, to be part of pro leagues, one must train the mind to be resilient and develop capacity to deliver when all the chips are down.

Professionalism?– There is no short cut to be a professional athlete. It takes years of dedication, sacrifices, thousands of hours of practice, preparing physically and mentally to face some of the toughest competition and the grind continues, rather elevates, during the pro league playing years. It is always true that what gets you there will not keep you there. So, skilling, reskilling and upskilling is not a fancy concept to pursue leisurely. It is the fact and the only thing which will keep one relevant.????

Decision making?– When there is not enough time for the huddle, the quarterback has the authority to call the play on-the-go. The role gives him the authority to make the decision and accountability to own the outcomes. These decisions are taken, improvised and re-done in fractions of seconds. Sometimes it results in a winning score and sometimes it doesn’t. But the most disastrous moments are those when the decisions are not taken due to fear of failure. So, as a leader, we should make and own the decisions to provide clarity to a team who looks up to you for clarity.???

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Sources:

https://leagueside.com/

https://wikipedia.org?