21 Leadership Lessons From Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney And Others From College Football’s Opening Weekend

Research shows over 70% of all six-figure income earners consider themselves avid sports fans.  This makes a lot of sense.  Sports involves measurable results, wins and losses, conflict resolution, team building, pressure, player development, strategy, perseverance, and pushing yourself to do more than you thought you were capable of.
As a leader, this is why I am so excited about the start of college football season.  This weekend, there were some great leadership insights provided on various pre-season shows.  Listed below are the coaches and their quotes along with an application for any leader who may be reading this post.
The following are 21 Leadership Lessons From Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney And Others From College Football’s Opening Weekend:
August 30th ESPN Championship Drive College Football Preview
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban

1. Leadership Development Is A Process – “Are we doing the things we need to do to get where we need to be?”
2. The More Great Leaders You Have The Better Your Team Is – “If you have a good staff they have good relationships with the players.”
3. People Need Clear Expectations – “It is so much better if you can define what people need to do to be successful.”
4. Team Chemistry Is A Process – “It is always a work in progress to get the team chemistry you want on your team.”
5. You Increase Confidence By Delivering Results – “Every player on the team has confidence in certain other players that they can do things in certain critical situations…That’s what happens when you win a team over.  You win their confidence.”

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney

1. Great Leaders Are Continual Learners – “I always kept learning and growing and preparing.”
2. Be Great At Whatever You Are Doing – “You have to prepare for your opportunities.  You never who’s watching.  Bloom where you’re planted.  Be great at whatever it is you’re doing and people will take notice of that.”
3. Preparation Gives You A Chance For Success – “It #4 (Deshaun Watson) is in the game we got a good chance…Nobody’s going to prepare harder.”
4. Great Teams Have Competitive Depth – “Defensively, one thing that’s going to help us is we’re going to have more competition than we had last year at certain positions.  I love that when you have good competitive depth.”
5. Winning Increases Morale – “I like it when we win.”
6. You Never Have To Recover From A Good Start – “One of our team goals is to win the opener.”
7. Preparation + Passion = A Good Start – “We must prepare with relentless passion to be the best we can be on September 3rd.”

ESPN College Gameday September 3rd

1. Do Not Confuse Teaching With Criticism – “Coaching can be viewed as criticism.  It’s not really criticism.  It’s really teaching.  Most of the time when you’re teaching some guy did something incorrectly you’re trying to fix.” – Coach Saban
2. Develop A Culture Of Insulation – “Our culture of insulation helps with that (overconfidence).” – Houston Cougars head coach Tom Herman
3. Smart Leaders Know Their Limitations – “There are some physical limitations.  It is a wall.” – LSU head coach Les Miles on his players doing the Lambeau leap
4. At The Edge Of Uncomfortable Is Greatness – “The first thing of an extreme workout is to make them extremely uncomfortable.” – Arizona Wildcats head coach Rich Rodriguez
5. Focus On Today And Tomorrow – “Think downfield but play locally.” – quarterback guru George Whitfield
6. Successful Leaders Manage Crisis Well – “Teach them how to win in an uncomfortable situation.” – Whitfield
7. What Separates Great Players Is Intelligence – “He’s a great thinker.  His football IQ is what separates him from most players.” – Coach Swinney on Watson
8. Great Teams Must Continually Fight Complacency – “Coming off a national championship is always a challenge.” – Coach Saban
9. There Is A Difference Between A Job And A Calling – “I don’t feel like I have a job.  This is what I’ve always wanted to do in life.” – USC head coach Clay Helton

For more leadership lessons from Coaches Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney, click the following:

• 22 Quotes From Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban On Being A Leader
• 58 Leadership Quotes From Nick Saban On Winning From Leadercast
• 35 Championship Pre-Game Leadership Quotes From Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney And Others
• Comparing And Contrasting Nick Saban And Dabo Swinney’s Leadership Styles
• 21 Practices Of Leaders Like Nick Saban And Urban Meyer Who Perform At The Highest Level
• 11 Reasons Why Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban Is One The World’s Greatest Leaders

For the record, I am expecting both Alabama and Clemson to both win by double-digit margins this evening.  What are your predictions?

Click HERE or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive my new Ebook 1269 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2016’s Top Christian Leadership Conferences.  Featured are the Johnny Hunt Mens Conference, ReThink Leadership, Orange and Leadercast Conferences among others.  If applied, these insights will make you an exponentially better leader.  Enjoy!!!