Next man up … watching the College Football Championship game last night was a case study in having a succession plan.
Ohio State played the game with their third string quarterback, while Oregon showed up with a second string coach. Due to Buckeye injuries, Cardale Jones found himself in command of the OSU huddle. And thanks to Chip Kelly’s departure a couple of years ago to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, Mark Helfrich was the man in charge of the Duck decisions.
Are you kidding me? The best teams in the land led by a bunch of back ups?
It begs the question. Does your organization have a depth chart like the Bucs and Ducks? If you expect to maximize the capacity of your leaders and reach the potential of your team, you better pay attention to and build your bench.
College football teams recognize at any moment, at every position, someone needs to be ready to move from the role of backup to starter … even with their coaches. Whether through graduation or injury, a next-man-up mentality is vital for a program’s success. Your business should be no different.
If you truly want to create a leadership culture, don’t forget to build your bench. At some point you will need it, especially if you hope to become a champion.
Leadership Begins at Home,
Randy
Do you have a strategic process for building your bench?
Comment Below …
I absolutely agree with the bench needing to be strong but I disagree somewhat with the the Oregon coach being a “second string” coach. If he would have taken over in the same season that Chip Kelly stepped down and then made it to a national title, that would for sure make him a “second string” coach. But this was years removed from that transition. He led that team to the National Title because of his abilities as a “first string” leader IMO. Two years removed from Chip Kelly was plenty of time for him to either continue the legacy of the ducks or send it downward spiraling.
I really enjoyed this post and agree whole heatedly that an organization or team has to have a strong bench in order to be successful. This generation of workers is always on the move and transition is bound to happen; the question is just when? Will your organization or team be ready to fill that void?
Thanks Randy for sharing!
Great comment, Ryan. Thanks for sharing and point well taken on Helfrich. Oregon program showed a lot of depth by being able to promote from within, for sure.
Blessings!
Randy
Thank you for giving us inspiration and thought daily. It truly moves me into a deeper thought about the direction I am headed. Keep it up!
Ryan
I appreciate the encouragement Ryan!