Talent Versus Leadership

What we can learn from Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady

Indulge me, if you will, another illustration from the NFL. This last weekend was a glorious weekend for football lovers, an absolute feast with four games decided by the final play. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a better four games in a row like this.

Perhaps the most shocking outcome came this week on a snowy, frigid Lambeau Field where the underdog San Fransisco 49’ers did the improbable and knocked off the Green Bay Packers. Full disclosure: I’m a Chicago Bears fan and it didn’t upset me to see the Packers upset. However, of all the games this weekend, I thought it was a lock that Green Bay, quarterbacked by one of the most gifted quarterbacks in NFL history, would advance. And yet they didn’t and there are multiple reasons why, but chief among them is leadership.

Collin Cowherd, a sports radio talker, had a great point in comparing the leadership of Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. Both are future Hall of Famers. But Rodgers record in the playoffs is not great, including four losses to the 49’ers. He won a Super Bowl eleven years ago, but most people feel that with this talented a roster, year after year, he should have won more. The NFL is tricky and the ball bounces in weird ways so you can’t entirely fault Rodgers. Still, listen to what Cowherd says here about leadership:

Herd w/Colin Cowherd @TheHerd

A message to Aaron Rodgers, courtesy of @ColinCowherd: "You can't do it alone. You can't be cynical. You can't be a bailer."

I think Cowherd makes a great point. Rodgers is gifted, but he has always seemed to make the game about himself. When things go bad, he blames the team, year after year castigating the Packers management for giving him bad players, threatening to leave, etc. On the flip side, Tom Brady has taken a different approach, leading his team, getting them involved, even making substandard players into great players.

There is something to learn here for those of us who lead in any capacity.