Say what you will about coach Deion Sanders - he's cocky, he's a show-off, he's bombastic, etc. - but you cannot say he is not successful in much of his professional life.
As a player, he was one of the best cornerbacks in the history of the NFL (if not THE best). Heck, he was the first person to play in both a Super Bowl and a World Series as a duel professional athlete! As a football coach, he worked his way up from high school to college, amassing a collegiate record thus far of 30 wins and 8 losses between his tenures at Jackson State and Colorado. Keep in mind Colorado is currently 3-2, and they won only a single game all of last year out of 12. Coach Sanders also went undefeated at Jackson State in conference games in 2 out of the 3 years he was there as head coach.
Clearly, there is something behind Coach Sander's success that goes beyond his individual athletic achievements, given his past and current success as a coach.
I believe that 'something' is leadership.
Here are a few things I have observed that lead me to believe Coach Sanders has the attributes of a great leader:
(1) He remains calm under pressure.
When watching the last 5 games as Colorado's head coach, I cannot help but notice Deion's presence on the field's sidelines; he is calm, cool, and relatively collected. Game 3 against Colorado State was back and forth all night, and some plays didn't go Colorado's way. But guess what? I hardly ever saw Coach Sanders react negatively. He was a calm presence on the sideline - something his team mirrored on the playing field. They never gave up and ended up winning in overtime.
Great leaders know their energy and reactions affect the rest of the team. Coach Sanders must understand this on some level, as the natural human reaction to some of these plays would be to get angry and frustrated. Coach Sanders seems to hardly do this in the games I have observed, even when his team is down on the scoreboard. As one sports commentator put it, "When the general is calm, the troops are calm"; and that fits Deion's coaching style perfectly.
2) He makes meaningful connections with his team.
Effective leaders understand the importance of building strong relationships, and Deion Sanders excels in this aspect of leadership. Sanders' ability to connect on a personal level with individuals from diverse backgrounds and roles has cultivated a strong sense of unity and camaraderie within the University of Colorado football program. His genuine interest in the well-being and success of those around him has created a supportive and inclusive culture where people feel valued and invested in the team's mission.
One great example of this was when Deion spoke with wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. mid-game. Jimmy was not performing well in what was objectively a tough game overall. Coach Sanders talked to Jimmy one-on-one and motivated him to perform at his best with a pledge to go out there and make Jimmy's dad proud that night. Rather than berate or belittle bad play, or even take him out of the game - Coach Sanders understood the personal relationship between his player and himself was important enough to inspire him to play at his best.
Guess what happened after that? Jimmy caught the game-tying touchdown, and went for 66 yards on 7 catches! That is leadership in action!
3) He looks at failures as opportunities.
Coach Sanders' successes have also been met with failures. The University of Colorado football team lost 2 games in a row. One of those losses was a blowout against the University of Oregon, and the other ended up being a 1-touchdown margin of defeat to the University of Southern California (USC) (they did however, recently win against the Arizona State University in a somewhat close game). Both games were against ranked opponents within the same conference (the Pac-12).
Specifically with the Oregon game, Deion did acknowledge the game was "a good ole fashion butt-kicking"; but he never implied nor explicitly noted the game was a "failure" by his team. Instead, he made a point to say everyone on the team would be accountable - including himself - for the loss. The implication of how this was said leads me to believe that this was to be used as a learning opportunity for Coach Sanders' team to build from, as the remainder of his message was filled with confidence and belief in his team. In Coach Sanders' own words, while wearing his trademark sunglasses no less: "I know I have on shades, but I can see the future and it looks good."
This belief in Coach Sanders' team was especially prevalent in the close loss to USC. After the game, Coach Sanders spoke to his team in the locker room, stating "You have nothing, nothing, not one thing to hang your head down on ... You guys fought, you were resilient, you didn’t give up. You could’ve quit, you could’ve tapped out. I’m so darn proud of y’all.” This belief in his players was followed up by the same opportunity mindset in the face of defeat when he emphasized the importance of learning from this game for success in the future. Per Coach Sanders, “Now y’all understand where we are ... You understand what could’ve, should’ve [happened] if we would have played the first half like we did the second. Understand that taste in your mouth, so you don’t ever [have to taste it] it again.”
In the college football world where only 12 games are played, wins and losses mean a great deal. However, Coach Sanders' perspective on each of these losses appears to be geared towards opportunities to grow and improve, not sulking in failure and spreading blame. Coach Sanders is known to be a supremely confident human being, and yet despite the 2 losses, his mindset of growth from a "failure" only compliments his passion for success in his team.
Great leaders raise their teams up with them.
Coach Sanders will always be known for his stellar playing career in the NFL, along with his supreme confidence in himself. It should be no surprise then, that this confidence is passed down to his team. A great player has evolved into a great leader from my vantage point. Whether you like him or not, Coach Sanders has shown traits of being a great leader that we can all emulate in our own organizations.
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