PERSPECTIVES The Scoreboard Doesn’t Lie By Mark W. Womack

The following article was written just before the National Football League’s 2004 season began. The focus of the article is the legendary NFL coach Bill Parcells and the great leadership challenge he faced upon taking over as coach of the Dallas Cowboys prior to the 2003 NFL season. Much of the article is set in the context of the Cowboy’s 2003 season, which followed three consecutive terrible seasons. The article outlines the profound transformation of the Cowboys in Parcell’s first season as their coach and some of the leadership lessons that can be drawn from Parcells’ methods and the effect they had on the team. After the article was written, the Cowboys did not maintain the success they achieved in 2003 and performed poorly in 2004. Their performance in 2004 can raise questions about how much of a role Parcells’ leadership played in the transformation of the Cowboys in 2003. The lessons outlined in the article were based not only on Parcells’ bottom-line results in 2003, but also on the results he’s achieved throughout his career. I have no doubt the lessons are rooted in solid ground.

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It’s true. The scoreboard doesn’t lie. You may not like the result. You may even think the outcome was unfairly affected by things that happened in the contest. But the scoreboard doesn’t care about any of that. It has a job to do. Without fanfare, it provides final answers to two questions. It declares who won and who lost. The scoreboard filters everything out except for these answers, doing its job with a distinctive purity.

From a Select Fraternity

Bill Parcells is a leader who approaches his craft with a similar purity. His single-minded focus is as basic as it is rare. In a ferocious and unforgiving industry, there’s an elegant simplicity in how he leads and prepares his teams to be in the best position to win their contests. Bill Parcells is a member of a select fraternity of leaders. How select? There are almost 300 million people living in the United States. At any given time, only 32 of them can be head coaches in the National Football League.

Bill Parcells is the only one from this fraternity who has ever led four different teams to the playoffs. Perhaps even more impressive is that he turned around all four teams, with each having a losing record before his arrival. In each case, they were certifiable winners and in the playoffs by the second year after he took command. Parcells has also led a team to the Super Bowl on three occasions, achieving victory twice in the NFL’s championship game, which is the most celebrated single event in the sporting world.

A Special Challenge

Last year, after becoming head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, he put an exclamation point on his already legendary leadership resume. This is because all of the experts were predicting that not even the great Parcells could resurrect the Cowboys in his first year.

There were three factors pointing to a losing campaign for Parcells and the Cowboys last year:

Based on these factors, industry experts predicted that the Cowboys would win six or seven games at best in Parcells’ first year and that it would take him at least two years to turn the organization around.

The Drill Sergeant

How did Parcells approach this challenge? The same way he has with all four teams he’s led. The basics of Parcells’ approach are similar to that of a drill sergeant. Drill Sergeants are responsible for the critical boot camp initiation and training of new military recruits. During this phase, they are responsible for their assigned recruits 24 hours a day.

All Drill Sergeants, more than anything, demand and instill discipline and teach self-control and mental toughness.

The very best drill sergeants also do two other things:

More than anything else, these are the same things that Parcells does for his teams and it’s his special brand of doing them that sets him apart. As the Cowboy’s new leader, he demanded discipline from each and every member of his team from day one, including his star players. He demanded that they always be prepared for all aspects of their roles and responsibilities. He demanded that they be mentally tough – that they maintain the required focus at all times.

From the very beginning, in everything he did with the team, he was preparing them to successfully execute their roles in the heat of the battle. To help achieve this aim, he instituted a short set of new policies that immediately set a tone for a team that would be focused on their roles and what it takes to be a winner. Most of these policies had to do with pride and professionalism, preparedness, physical conditioning, punctuality and the sort of distractions that plague most modern pro sports teams, such as the proliferation of cell phones and visitors in the locker room.

Here’s the thing. Many leaders say they want a disciplined organization and some of them even implement structures, processes and policies that they intend will help achieve that goal. The truth is that few organizations are very disciplined. Even fewer execute with much precision, especially under pressure.

So how does Bill Parcells achieve these aims?

Here are five ways he goes about achieving rare success in these areas:

One: It Makes Sense

There are sound reasons for the discipline he espouses and he is unwavering about it. The discipline, self-control and mental toughness he espouses are clearly in the best interest of his team, both individually and collectively. It’s apparent that if they consistently conduct themselves in the ways he is coaching them to, they will achieve greater results.

But here’s the key: he never wavers. Never. The standards are set. They don’t change based on the day, week, individual, or for any other changing circumstances. If they’re right, they never go out of style.

A stunning example of Parcells’ unwavering commitment to the standards he sets for his team occurred just days before the completion of this article and several weeks before the beginning of his second season with the Cowboys.

He and Jerry Jones, the owner of the Cowboys, suddenly cut one of their most valuable players from the team upon learning he had tested positive for drug use. There was no league requirement that they do so and NFL teams historically do not take such action on their own volition with key players. NFL teams typically give repeated chances to talented players who have been in various forms of trouble.

In contrast, Parcells reportedly felt that he could no longer trust a player he had invested heavily in for 18 months. This particular player was the Cowboy’s quarterback and thus a team leader. Last year, Parcells had helped the player perform at a much higher level than he previously had and the player was integral to the Cowboys’ turnaround.

Even greater evidence of Parcells’ steadfast approach is that there wasn’t a comparable replacement waiting in the wings. Due to this, the Cowboys prospects for the upcoming season may have dipped with this action. Based on Parcells’ comments to the media following the decision, he’s saddened but not looking back. The day after the decision he declared he didn’t want to discuss it anymore because it was over and he wanted to focus on preparing his team.

Two lessons from this are clear:

Two: Class Is in Session

He teaches his players how to do things better. Although he’s reached the pinnacle of his profession and he could certainly leave this solely to his assistants, Parcells still personally teaches some of the techniques and fundamentals that he knows will help his team be more successful. In the NFL, it is often assumed that players already know the proper fundamentals necessary to performing their roles well. Parcells doesn’t assume such things because he knows many of them have gaps in their knowledge and understanding about important aspects of executing their roles. He also knows he can’t demand that they execute properly if he’s not willing to teach them what they don’t know.

If a player demonstrates that he’s committed, Parcells will invest a great deal in educating and developing him. Parcells believes that players will always be receptive to any teaching that can help them be successful as long as it’s presented in a manner conducive to learning.

Industry executives take note. Many top executive leaders continually demand better performance from their management team members and from their organizations but leave it to the individuals to figure it out. When this happens, the best intentioned individuals often resort to just working harder than they already were. But it will always be true – working hard and smart will trump just working harder every time. Working harder at the wrong things or in the wrong ways has negative consequences beyond a lack of desired results – frustration and diminished self-confidence among them. Allowing personnel to suffer this way doesn’t exactly breed confidence in leadership or a loyal following either.

Another related issue in industry can be found when you take a close look at the behavior of managers and leaders at the various levels in an organization structure. Almost without fail, the higher the level – the less that level coaches and teaches the level below in the way that Parcells teaches his coaches and players. The resulting effect is that many industry managers and leaders have big gaps in the knowledge and understanding they need to execute their roles well. This effect is accentuated due to the great demands placed on many of them in the increasingly competitive business landscape.

Many industry executives receive little real mentoring and coaching after they are promoted to a middle management level. And continuing the cycle, most of them provide very little of it to the next level. That isn’t to say they don’t usually have clear performance expectations and goals. They often do. But it’s not the same thing. Even senior executives can benefit from the right mentoring and coaching throughout the journey. Minimally, they’ll be better and more successful leaders and people because of it, and in some cases, outright failure will be averted.

Three: There’s No Escape

He holds his players accountable every time. If you blew an assignment on the field, you blew an assignment. If you were late for a meeting, you were late. If your performance was substandard, there will be no “spin-doctoring” to save you from owning your performance.

Parcells lets players know what’s expected of them in no uncertain terms. Part of this communication is in one-on-one conversations he has with all of his players. He lets them know what they will have to do to remain a member of the team. Inherent in this is that it’s a privilege to be a part of the team and that the privilege must be continuously earned.

If a player has the potential to meet performance standards but is playing below them, he gives the player a chance to change if the player demonstrates sufficient desire and commitment to making the necessary improvements. He also sees that the player gets the education and coaching he needs to support his efforts. If the player doesn’t improve to standards in a reasonable timeframe, the player is cut from the team.

There are two main consequences of this overall approach. On the one hand, there are players who do not appreciate and embrace Parcells’ approach to this and who invariably do not remain with the team for very long. On the other hand, there are many players who swear by Parcells’ approach and credit him with helping them take their performance to a higher level because of it. These players also routinely cite the motivating effect it had on the team as a whole.

In contrast to Parcell’s approach, it’s common for many executive leaders to not even hold their management team members accountable for such fundamental responsibilities as being on time and well prepared for important management meetings. And it gets worse from there. I’ve witnessed countless examples of executives not being held accountable for unsatisfactory performance, including that which significantly impacted their organization’s bottom-line.

In some of these instances, I’ve seen all sorts of obfuscation, red herrings and other evasive maneuvers employed by individuals hoping to avoid being held accountable. Typically, nobody hearing it was fooled – yet the individuals still weren’t held accountable. These are casualties of the desire by executives to avoid the sort of intense and emotional confrontation that is required to hold people accountable in such situations.

On many occasions when I’ve seen executives escape accountability, I’ve thought about how devastating it would be if the front-line troops of the organization witnessed exactly what transpired. Even without any such direct knowledge, serious damage is sustained by an organization when the front-line troops simply become aware that unsatisfactory

performance is tolerated in particular areas without any visible consequences. How do you think they perceive top leadership when they see that accountability is situational?

Take a cue from Mr. Parcells. Accountability should never rest. You did or you didn’t. Deal with it. Celebrate or adjust. Just don’t escape or aid and abet an escape from accountability. What should organization members be held accountable for? Everything in their purview. When should they be held accountable? Always. The effect I’ve seen when top leaders have approached things this way is akin to an entire organization sitting up straighter in its chair, paying more attention and being much more eager to do well.

Four: Good Isn’t Good Enough

He challenges his players to perform better than they think they can. This is critical to Parcells’ success. He challenges all of them – even the players who have been recognized as being among the best in the league at what they do. Parcells starts with a basic assumption that everyone can do better if they are motivated to do so.

Parcells works at understanding what motivates each individual and then he works at getting under each player’s skin to motivate them to dig deep to show him their best. If a player is motivated by a desire to be perceived as the best in the league at his position – he works that angle. If a player is driven by a need to prove wrong those who considered him too slow to be successful in the NFL – he works that angle. His tactics range from simple needling to one-on-one challenges to using theatrical props to get the player’s attention.

Parcells will often challenge a player who feels satisfied with a good performance. If Parcells sees that a player who performed well can perform even better, he will make that known.

One of the keys to Parcells’ approach is that he challenges players on an everyday basis – not just at certain points. This is because Parcells believes that a leader has to create on-going performance pressure in an organization to constantly motivate people to perform at a high level. He believes that human nature dictates that this won’t happen otherwise.

This performance pressure sometimes results in conflict between Parcells and members of the organization. Whereas many leaders prefer to avoid such conflict, Parcells relishes it because it creates opportunities to reach people on a deep level, to get things straight with them and to achieve breakthroughs in understanding.

Parcells has found that many people appreciate this approach and he tells how players come and thank him years later for the pressure he put on them. They thank him for demanding more of them and for showing them they were capable of doing better.

The key fundamentals from this aspect of Parcells’ overall approach:

Here is an especially relevant lesson from Parcells’ approach for industry executives:

An organization needs on-going performance pressure. Organizations in industry are quite bottom-line oriented and many of them put a great deal of pressure on themselves to deliver certain results per month, quarter or year. Unfortunately for many of these organizations, they often have an attention deficit regarding their results until the latter stages of their measurement interval. This frequently leads to them lagging vs. their targets and then they typically react with directives that are more desperate than they are motivating.

When an organization feels desperate it is far more likely to make mistakes and to compromise its standards and reputation. In contrast to a constant positive pressure to perform at a high level, these organizations experience a stressful oscillation from one extreme to the other, repeated throughout the year or year-to-year.

The lesson from Parcells is to keep a constant pressure on organization members to perform at a high level every day. Not only does this help prevent having to play catch-up late in the game, but it provides an organization with daily opportunities to improve performance, achieve breakthroughs in understanding and to coach and teach.

Five: The Perceived Payoff

He gives his team confidence that they’ll be winners if they follow his lead. As their new leader, Parcells immediately gave confidence to the woeful Cowboy team he inherited. From his first day, they suddenly expected to become winners and they felt a greater pride and competitive sprit. There is no doubt that this confidence is significantly fueled by his pedigree as a two-time Super Bowl winner and highly successful coach of three different NFL teams. But that’s far from the only reason – Parcells creates confidence in his teams also because of his demeanor and approach.

One of the most important things Parcells does in this regard is he imposes his full leadership from the first moment. He doesn’t wait for the team to give the impression that he’s earned that right. He believes people want to be led by leaders who are confident and resolute about what they’re doing. He also believes people want their leaders to operate according to defined principles and philosophies and to conduct themselves consistently in accordance with them.

Parcells quickly earns respect and generates confidence for the following reasons:

Lessons abound from this aspect of Parcells’ leadership repertoire. Ask yourself if you are generating the level of confidence in your teams that Parcells does. Although not all elements of his approach in this area are directly applicable in all leadership realms, any leader can benefit from an honest self-assessment against the above items. Industry executives can definitely benefit from consistent application of items six and seven.

The Short Version

The five key elements of Bill Parcells overall leadership approach:

The Scoreboard Revisited

So what happened with the Cowboys in Parcells’ first season?

By early in the season, Parcells had transformed the Cowboys into a team respected throughout the league for their performance and conduct on the field. Suddenly, they were a proud, disciplined team capable of beating anybody.

And what did the scoreboard say about the Cowboy’s tough-minded execution of Parcells’ vision? The scoreboard says the Cowboys achieved a 10-6 season and a play-off berth.

And the experts? After further consideration, they say the Cowboys are already in or near the upper echelon of the NFL.