Mike Tomlin: Leadership Oracle

Last week, I ruined a night of sleep by deciding to listen to an episode of the podcast The Pivot that features Super Bowl champion and longtime Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin as the guest. The reason it ruined my sleep was that once I got started, it was hard to stop. What started as bros talking football became an extended discussion on leadership, and Tomlin offered some absolute diamonds throughout. 

First, Tomlin wonderfully articulated why building authentic personal relationships is important to leadership. 

In the interview, Tomlin says:

“I don’t have any problem fighting for that dude [pointing to Ryan Clark, a podcast host and one of his former players] ‘cause I know you're going to fight for us. And maybe the reason he fights for us is because he knows that we are going to fight for him, but that's relationships. That's life. 

Somebody got to be all in for everybody to be all in. And so, when you're in the position of leadership, shouldn’t you own the initial component of that? [I have to] be willing to show you before I expect you to reciprocate. I’m in the position of leadership in the relationship. I just think that's my mindset. 

I'm open to intimacy, but at the same time, I realize that I'm not going to have intimate relationships with everybody. Everybody don't want intimate relationships with me. Everybody’s not comfortable with intimate relationships with me, but everybody knows I'm open. 

And some people take advantage of it, and so we end up with something that's cool, that's beyond our professional relationship, that lasts a lifetime, like me and my bro right here [Clark]. But it doesn't always come to that, and it doesn't have to. But as a leader, I better let it be known that I'm open. 

Because you can't do ordinary stuff, man, and expect unique results. That don't make sense. We can't have ordinary relationships—I coach. You play. Do this. Good job. Bad job—and expect the end of our journey for the confetti to be raining down on us.” 

Tomlin continued:

“…You better be willing to do unique things in order to expect unique results. And that's just life. [...] As a leader, How do I wear that responsibility? How do I create that? How do I create an atmosphere where that happens? 

I got to be vulnerable. I got to be open. I got to be open to intimacy. I got to help these dudes with every aspect of their life—football and otherwise. I got to let them see me—my successes, my failures, everything. That's the only way.” 

Second, Tomlin provides a great kick in the pants for leadership who aren’t invested in developing their team members. 

He says:

“Management, right? That’s what the hell we’re paid to do. We put together a strategy relative to those that we compete against. We try to bring out the best in the collective. In an effort to do so, we better manage the collective, and the individuals within the collective. 

I love to hear coaches resist the responsibility of coaching, because they’re easy to beat. [...] I love coaches that resist the responsibility of coaches, that talk negatively about dudes [saying that they] can’t learn. Man, if everybody could learn, we’d need less coaches. If the group didn't need management, then we wouldn't make as much!” 

He adds:

[...] I don’t run away from coaching. I run to coaching. It’s all in line with that ‘not seeking comfort’ [mindset that he talked about earlier]. Because when you’re a coach that's talking about ‘somebody can’t learn,’ you’re seeking comfort because your teaching is struggling.”

Finally, even though Tomlin’s legacy as a coach is assured—15 straight seasons with one team, 10 playoff appearances—he’s relentlessly focused on what type of leader he needs to be today.

Ryan Clark asked:

“This current team and going forward, who does Mike Tomlin have to be, and what does he have left to prove?”

Tomlin responded:

“I need to be what this 2022 team needs me to be. That’s leadership, right? It doesn’t mean being inauthentic. It doesn't mean not being myself, but I better be sensitive to the needs of the group, and I better work to meet [those needs]. And that's what I mean when I say, ‘I better be what they need me to be.’ 

And so it's going to be different things at different times, man, and I'm open to that. [...] Day to-day, I don’t know what they need me to be. I better have my ear to the ground. I better get a feel for it. 

I think that's one of the reasons why I established the routine that I do. You ever notice [that] there’s a certain point in the morning where I'm walking around on the first floor with a cup of coffee? I come in early, I get all my necessary business out of the way because I want to get a feel for the group as it's coming into the building. That gives me a directive in terms of what I need to be for them that day. And so how the hell am I going to get a feel for that if I'm upstairs hiding behind my desk or something [of] that nature?” 

[...] I'm excited about being that. I don't know what that is this year. I don't know what it's going to look like, but I promise you that I’m going to be ready.” 

Beyond Tomlin’s words, honestly, I don’t have much to add. I could have highlighted about 5 more passages in this post. The whole interview is worth a listen.