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The NFL version of Jay-Z’s “On to the next one”

July 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I think the fact that a deal ultimately was agreed to speaks volumes to the very leadership principles that appear to be lacking everywhere you turn.  Firm principles with the ability to compromise for the greater good should be the “guiding light” of all negotiations.

It’ll be interesting now to see if the agents and GM’s can show the same “détente” demonstrated by both the NFL and the Players.  The scope of doing business went through some significant changes over the course of the summer and now those that didn’t “do the deal” & “revel in the final agreement” will be forced to make it work on a day to day basis.

Like anything it will take time.  There’ll be some contracts turned back by the NFL and probably some heated words between clubs and the player reps.  There’ll be some miscalculations regarding CAP math and some hurt feelings regarding compensation, but those are the resulting pains of a lockout and resulting labor peace that really didn’t have any major affect on pro football for 2011.

Over the next few weeks give a shout to your team’s “Capologist” or “Contract Guy” or “Director of Football Administration”.  He or she will be charged with quickly taking hold of the new CBA and deciphering how all the new rules will ultimately influence the “best laid plans” since this past March.

Cause after all, wasn’t it Nancy Pelosi who said “We have to pass it so we can find out what’s in it”?

No truer words.

 

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NFL Players – Loyal or Disloyal?

July 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“True loyalty cannot be commandeered: It can only be won.” - The Art of Leadership by J. Donald Walters

I tweeted last night and referenced a person that I think very highly of in today’s discussions of management and leadership.  Mr. Bruce Tulgan has written some eighteen books on the subject of managing both Generation X and Y workers.  His research goes deep into what formulates their thoughts towards both the world and the workplace, and I’ve had the pleasure to forge a relationship with him through his company Rainmaker Thinking over the past three years.  He is in a sense my personal “sensei” on the subject.

Bruce speaks throughout the year to both corporate America and the United States military on better ways to motivate and manage this highly productive and yet challenging portion of the workforce.  Entire training programs and “in house” cultural transformations have been modeled off of his teachings regarding the management of Millennials.  Simply put, “this guy knows his stuff”.

This past week has spurred a lot of thoughts with me surrounding the final negotiations of a potential new Collective Bargaining Agreement between NFL players and their employers (the owners/League).  This situation converges into Bruce Tulgan’s first myth about Generation Y – “Disloyalty”.

If you ask Baby Boomers and older Generation Xers, “Are you loyal to your employer?” they usually say this: “Yes. No. Yes and no. It depends on what you mean by loyal.”

But the younger the person, the more likely they are to say “Yes.”…..”Are you sure? Because I thought you were going to say ‘no.’” And they say, “I’m very loyal!” And then I might say to them, “Well, where do you think you’ll be in six or twelve months?” And they say, “Oh, well, that depends on my best offer.” We call it ‘just-in-time loyalty.’ And it’s not the kind of loyalty you get in a kingdom. It’s not the kind of loyalty where people follow rites of passage, where they have blind fealty to a hierarchy. It’s not the kind of loyalty that you get in a kingdom. It’s the kind of loyalty you get in a free market.

What do you get in a free market? The answer is, ‘whatever you can negotiate.’ The way that Gen Yers think about employment relationships is short-term and transactional. But it doesn’t mean they’re disloyal. It’s just the kind of loyalty you get in a free market. It’s the kind of loyalty you have to your customers and your clients. If they stop paying, well, you probably stop delivering services and products. No hard feelings. That’s the deal.

Gen Yers are loyal. But they’re loyal to you as if you are a customer. It’s not going to be the old-fashioned, long-term, pay-your-dues, and climb the ladder kind of loyalty. If you try to get Gen Yers to make lots of short-term sacrifices now in exchange for vague promises about long-term rewards that may or may not vest in the deep, distant future, it’s just not going to work.

From:  Bruce Tulgan’s Newsletter, June 16, 2011 issue – 280th edition, “The #1 Myth about Generation Y”

I can’t help but think about some of the issues that have been on the table between NFL players and NFL owners; the overall reduction in the “piece of the pie” that goes towards player salaries, significant curbs on entering rookie contracts, the haggling of four vs. five year contracts to tie up elite draft picks, and a potential 10 year long term agreement between players and the League.  More so, take into account that these parameters will govern much of a talent pool that has yet to even enter, let alone graduate from college.

So what might be the ultimate stand of the NFL’s workforce in say, five years?   A long term deal will not necessarily “squelch” the wants and needs of the GEN Y player.  Nor will it allow NFL management to set aside the “headaches” of dealing with those wants and needs on a continuing basis.

As Bruce Tulgan will ask, “Who’s right?”.

The old-fashioned, long-term, pay-your-dues, climb-the-ladder kind of loyalty doesn’t make a lot of sense in a highly uncertain world. In a highly uncertain world it makes a lot of sense to think short-term and transactional. And remember, with Generation Y, they’ve never known it any other way.

Food for thought before the ink starts to dry.

 

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Communication is the “KEY” component between the NFL and its Players

July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“When people stop coming to you with their problems, this indicates a failure in leadership.” – Gen. Colin Powell

If players are truly the driving force behind the success of any franchise, and clearly they are the end result on Sundays, then ownerships should continue to explore new ways of maximizing their talents to the fullest extent.  Many might argue that it’s the very “team concept” of football (more than any other organized sport) that requires rigid emphasis in the face of the core values of the “Me” player.

Certainly this has been a popular focal point over the past few seasons with regards to League imposed discipline, as well as with the Club selections of leadership and management.  But a new generation of athlete may be forcing us to quickly relook at our own values with regards to “team building” and open up a whole new way of managing professional sports franchises.

A partnership approach may be the wave of the future.  Clubs that show flexibility and understanding towards the leadership and development of their “Me” players will undoubtedly find the road to a championship a little easier to navigate.  “Me” players willing to integrate as individuals into all facets of a club’s internal culture will in turn maximize their opportunities both on and off the field.

I disagree with the notion that to build a successful team all its members should be treated in a “cookie cutter” fashion.  Individual dynamics are what make a team strong.  It’s the inability of leadership to manage, motivate and direct the individual that is toxic to a team environment.  The very nature of the “Me” generation probably scares most who are unprepared to deal with this differing viewpoint of life and the workplace.

NFL owners can meet this challenge by understanding their core values/needs and providing the leadership and environment that will cultivate their best efforts as members of their club.

In an earlier post I mentioned five issues that are related to the “Me’s” and it would behoove ownerships to address these if they wish to bridge the GEN Y gap; development, feedback, parental influence, compensation and retention.

FEEDBACK – The “Me’s” are in constant need of it and require a positive approach.  Eliminate any ambiguities by clearly defining your requirements with regard to everything.  “Dog cussing” a player into toughness won’t get it done.  I’ve seen this technique in action and it flat doesn’t work.  The coach may think he’s getting the point across but he’s only getting “dog cussed” back and this is no way to build consistent loyalty with your roster.

As a former Air Force Officer, coach and General Manager I’m not saying to coddle players by any means.  I will say that if I had been on the field in turn “dog cussing” our coaches for their own inefficiencies they wouldn’t have liked that much either.  This is a group that wants “in” on the whole picture.  They require a lot of teaching and coaching, not regurgitation of information.  Clubs will need to “listen” and be open to the concerns of their players.

I’ve probably spoken with close to 150 or 160 current and former NFL players over the past two to three years.  In canvassing their concerns with issues between players and clubs, by far the number one answer was “lack of communication”.  Little to no feedback is ever given by the club’s coaches or personnel staff regarding most issues facing players today.

How do you envision the communication between your team and its players? Is it even important to you?

 

 

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Can NFL Owners see the forest for the trees?

July 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“Before following a leader it is wise to see if he is headed in the right direction.” – from The Power of Goals

Key is the ability for an owner to create stability in the midst of change, a dichotomy of thought but achievable through consistency.  Consistency in leadership and the principles and values related to that change.  First and foremost is the ability to convey the message of “the mission” of the organization to group (“GEN Y” or “Me” players).  Above all else the ability to understand and see the big picture, then create systems and programs that utilize the talents that these players bring to the Club to their fullest.

A professional football franchise in today’s game is much too large and complexly integrated to allow for any one person to fully oversee every aspect of its operations.  Certainly an overall direction can be implemented by a single individual, but the “Christmas Tree” approach to leadership (one direction – top, down) is not the best method in maximizing the abilities of an organization, especially in dealing with “Me’s”.

“The Apple Tree” analogy is a better fit.  Here the leader possesses the skills and know how to communicate not only up to ownership, but down through the organization (trunk and roots) and side to side (branches and limbs) with the media and fans.  This may seem a bit obvious to most, but it is very rare to find these types of leaders with the understanding and abilities to do just that.  Advanced communication skills are necessary to allow flexibility in the flow of information to a diverse constituency.  Too many in today’s NFL just aren’t prepared to do so.

Head Coaches without a personal computer or the ability to even email will have a difficult time in getting across any message, not to mention a game plan, to this group of players.  Their minds just don’t function on this outdated and mundane plane of thinking.    “No way, a coach without a PC?”  You’d be surprised, if not shocked.

Problem solving at the ownership level inevitably reverts back to the influence of coaches but frequently so through their singular knowledge of an offensive or defensive system, and all too less often on their ability to actually “lead” their organizations.  What other business would put forth the fortunes of a billion dollar company in the hands of a less than prepared CEO?

Too often the very leadership that owners expect from their coaches and front office executives is learned OJT and played out for all of their fans through the media (there are plenty of recent examples to choose from).  At a time when owners are looking for more and more ways to generate income from their organizations, can they truly rely upon “on the job training” when dealing with their most valuable assets (the players)?

For instance, let’s take the first two seasons after the last CBA agreement (2006 & 2007).  On average there was $22.66 million in cap dollars allocated to players no longer with their Clubs, effectively equating to an EQUAL amount of paid cash going “unearned” over the remaining years of the terminated contracts (if you’re taking into account the literal idea of proration).  Multiply that total by 32 teams and you’re well over $725 million in just two seasons!!!  Where and with whom does “the buck stop”?

In many cases it may be time to subcontract other outside service companies that are more prepared and adept at handling these very issues Clubs will face in the future.  Lean and mean, while seeking expert advice and counsel in sensitive areas of dealing with player performance and development should be the very makeup of Clubs in the NFL’s future.

Has the leadership with your club (Head Coach, GM, Owner, etc…) got a grasp of the issues?

 

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New leadership in the NFL is key to developing GEN Y players

June 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

“A leader must be motivated by what is right, and therefore willing to listen to, and – if fairly convinced – to adopt, other points of view, even if at first they seem in conflict with his own” – from The Art of Leadership by J. Donald Walters

Leaders entrusted with the billion dollar corporations that are NFL teams may be lacking in the fundamental understanding of leadership principles to guide this next generation of players.  They possess philosophies and characteristics rolled over from more outdated ways of dealing with people and organizations passed on to them from a bygone era.  The game (and its associated business) has changed as they hold firm and steadfast to the ways and means that molded teams twenty to thirty years ago.

Ownerships tend to over-emphasize football background and pedigree in selecting new head coaches and GM’s, while leadership and management experience appear to take a back seat on the list of overall requirements.   Professional football, as with any other corporate business venture, is about people.  The job (head coach or GM) requires an expanded ability to deal with a number of constituencies on a daily basis.

Premiums are placed on the ability to play a chess game of X & O’s while leaving the overall development of younger players to a veteran leadership that are competing for the very jobs these young players are trying to take.  To place the entire burden of mentoring future players on the backs of veterans just doesn’t make good organizational sense.  Without a true belief in the foundation of principles that most of us (including a very judgmental media component) aspire to in our athletes, “Me’s” will not only shun these core values but lack the ability to pass them on to future generations of players.

Most failures at the top are a result of an inability to deal with people and the varying dynamics that can play against a team; players, agents, media, fans, owners, coaches.  There are only sixteen hours of football each regular season, another eight thousand, seven hundred and forty-nine to mishandle the intricate relationships of these six groups.  Can NFL owners truly rely on “on the job training” with their Club’s leadership in this economic climate?

In return the “Me” players must be accepting of the direction the League feels it must take for the greater good and success of the game.  They must find a way to incorporate the idea that an optimized individual “both on and off the field” provides a greater platform from which to succeed in a team oriented business.  Certainly if fifty-three individuals are playing at peak performance levels and integrating into the organizational culture, then only good things can happen as a result of the success they most undoubtedly will experience.

The League wants an “untarnished shield”, the Clubs want “bang for their bucks” and we already know what the players want.  A recent workforce study showed salary and benefits as the #1 and #2 dominant factors or core elements of “Me’s” in the overall workplace.   Are we to expect NFL players to be any different?

For the League and the Clubs to try and squash the dynamics that push this “Me” generation of athlete (with an emphasis on the “greater good”) could be a major mistake.  By and large their positive traits are congruent with what the NFL and ownerships want from the game, they just need to be channeled in the correct manner.

This generation of player is highly competitive, extremely competent and goal oriented by nature.  They are more accepting of diversity and tend to give back to their communities even more than previous generations.  They seek and want direction, approval and developmental guidance.

But you (the club) better know what you’re talking about.

Don’t you just sometimes wonder exactly what the selection criteria for “NFL leadership” are?

 

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