Leaders, breathe a sigh of relief!

The Kansas City Chiefs proved an important lesson for leaders and teams of all kinds: perfection is not required to win championships.

The Chiefs won the Super Bowl this year and last year. Quite the feat, as repeat championships had not been accomplished in almost twenty years. And, the KC Chiefs ranked 31st out of the 32 teams, which is three down from last year, on the NFL Players Association Report Cards. (source)

Last month, lessons learned from the Chief’s ownership leadership failures were shared. (link)

This time, let’s focus on lessons to learn from the dichotomy.

How is it possible for the same players to win the Super Bowl and rank their organization so low?

A similar contradiction happens in business frequently. Have you worked where…

🤷‍♂️The Senior Leadership Team (SLT) does not agree on strategy 100% of the time? Yet, the company is profitable.

🤷‍♀️Or, have you seen a project leader work well with a team of indirect reports to complete a project on time and within budget (or close!), even when executives show little interest in the project?

🤷Or, where leaders pit people or projects against each other in their silo’ed ways?

Companies are profitable in spite of the way they operate sometimes, aren’t they?

The NFL Players Association Report Card this year showed the Chiefs players rated their Head Coach Andy Read an A+, the highest score in the whole league. They gave their ownership an F-.

Yet, they won their second championship in a row just a few weeks prior to the release of the report.

Victory is more likely when the leaders are aligned; however, the Chiefs show victory is possible when alignment is not 100%. They give hope to teams and leaders in business.

Here are 5 ways success can happen when players do not trust organization ownership or leadership at the highest level:

1.  Trusted Head Coach. The players rated their Head Coach, Andy Reid, the highest score of all NFL team coaches, A+. The players rated the Chiefs ownership an F-, last in the league. The players may overlook issues with ownership because they believe in Coach Reid’s ability to guide the team to success. They may trust Coach Reid more than they distrust ownership.

For businesses: A dedicated and skilled management staff who work directly with the employees can help create a positive and focused team environment, which people prioritize over some issues with ownership or executive leadership. As the data shows repeatedly, people leave managers, not companies. They stay for that reason too.

2.  Talent and Team Chemistry. The Chiefs have a talented roster with good chemistry across the board. One of the best examples of the team’s relationship was displayed after this year’s Super Bowl. One of the local channels continued the coverage for hours it seems, and it showed Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes congratulating every player at their locker. Their relationships and trust may enable them to overlook dissatisfaction with the ownership.

For businesses: Does your company have a talented roster with good chemistry? Are there strong leaders throughout the company? If not, work on that. That’s where culture comes in. You can influence the culture when you understand the truth of it, which is what Coach Reid does.

3.  Internal Motivators. The Chiefs players can focus on their love for the game, desire to win, commitment to each other, and personal improvement. Focusing on their intrinsic motivation can enable them to put aside issues with ownership during the season and playoffs.

For businesses: Your initial reaction to this might be to think how different your work is because it’s not a game like football that people grew up playing for fun. Or, you might dismiss it because there’s no trophy after projects are completed. Well, why not?

Reassess your culture. If people are hungry for victories, how can you create victory celebrations instead of moving at the speed of sound to the next project? And, I know some of your companies do have roles people played as kids—bankers, doctors, nurses, gamers, wedding planners, stylists, and more! Don’t overlook the love of the game and winning—find out more about the intrinsic motivators and how you can appeal to those. From a leadership standpoint, that can be one of the best parts of your job.

If you don’t appeal to what motivates your people, another team will.

4.  External Motivators. The Chiefs players may find external motivators, such as fan support, beating rivalries, or proving critics wrong to be more compelling than their grievances with team ownership.

For businesses: Your people have extrinsic motivators also. They may be motivated by industry visibility, recognition at a company meeting, or inclusion in a board meeting. Remember, you are trying to understand what motivates them, not you. Don’t judge them. Seek ways to enable your people to have more fulfillment in their work through intrinsic and extrinsic motivators that inspire them, and they are more likely to perform better.

5.  Focus and Professionalism: The players know a high level of professionalism and commitment to their craft will help their team win and will help them land with a new team if that’s needed after the season. Their focus and professionalism may help them rise above challenges posed by discontent with ownership.

For businesses: Recognize when someone is focused on self over team, doing the minimum needed to earn their paycheck, or when their behavior changes. They may have stopped offering ideas for improvement, for example. These are signs of discontent, which may spread throughout your team and lead to more exits than you desire. Prevent such discontent in the first place when you can. In lieu of that, prepare for the hard conversations and have them sooner rather than later.

Companies can learn from the Chiefs. The NFL’s Chiefs showed success is possible when the players love their Head Coach and feel differently about the team’s ownership.

While success under such circumstances is difficult and not sustainable in the long run, short-term victories could be possible if the players manage to compartmentalize their issues with ownership or senior leaders and focus on the game.

Your main take-away should be how you can help your players focus on the game no matter what else is going on within the company.