09 Feb SUPER (BOWL) “T3” LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM TOM BRADY!

Tom Brady, one of the NFL’s greatest players, champions and leaders, participated in an an interview Friday morning which provided insight as to why many consider him the NFL’s “GOAT (Greatest of All Time”).  His inspirational points on what creates high performing organizations (Teamwork), what helps maintain a positive outlook (Tone), and what builds personal toughness in the face of adversity (Tenacity) are worth sharing: 

• TEAMWORK: ”Preparation didn’t start for these [Super Bowl] teams after the AFC and NFC Championship games.  It started in the summertime 6-7 months ago when they came together and had a belief that they would be here in this moment, and that’s ultimately what they’re preparing for and that’s what championship organizations are all about.  You don’t wait for big moments for them to become big moments. You live those moments every day like they are big moments so you’re prepared when the moment arises.”

• TONE:  “I just felt that trying things that were outside of my comfort zone ended up being the best things in my life. You need people to believe in you, even when you don’t always have the most confidence in yourself. And if you’re surrounded by people that love you, that are there for you when you fail. Because the reality is, in life, when we try things that are very difficult, we do fail because they’re hard. And when they’re hard and you overcome them, you learn a lot about yourself. And if you can apply those things going forward to accomplish what you want, you’re going to gain a lot of self-esteem and a lot of self-confidence.”

• TENACITY:  “I feel like overcoming those challenges and adversities that I had, whether it was in high school and college, allowed me to be the professional athlete that I was. I learned a lot of things through failing that a lot of guys didn’t learn through high school and college because they were the best athletes. So, these sustainable qualities that you have as an athlete, like your work ethic, like your discipline, like your determination and competitiveness, those are what people would call into tangibles, because we can go measure physical strength or speed or all the things that are important, but in the end, they’re not sustainable over the course of a 23-year career.  “And if you get outside your comfort zone, you’re going to realize like, ‘Oh man, I’m kind of on my own, but I’ve got people that support me, but how do I figure this out?’ And part of that figuring it out is to dig a little deeper within yourself and to develop a better work ethic, to be a little more bit more disciplined in what you’re doing and to be more determined to accomplish it every single day. And if you cheat that, in the end you cheat yourself, and you’re never going to accomplish your goals, you’re going to be settling for your plan B’s your entire life.”

Humble. Grateful. Humorous. Focused. Genuine. Motivational.  The GOAT speaks as well as he played. 🏈

For more motivational “T3” Leadership stories, visit: https://thebeckert3group.com/blog

– Rear Admiral Paul Becker, USN (Ret) is a motivational and national security keynote speaker.  He is a leadership professor at the U.S. Naval Academy and the CEO of The Becker T3 Group. In 2016, The Naval Intelligence Community established “The Rear Admiral Becker ‘Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity Award for Leadership” in his honor.  To connect with Paul, visit his website: https://thebeckert3group.com