Can we stop pretending athletes have a monopoly on leadership?
It’s a Spicy 🌶️ Friday post!
I’m not dismissing what sports teach about teamwork and discipline. But somewhere along the way, we collectively decided that athletes are the paragon of leadership wisdom, and I’m challenging that.
Because I learned everything I know about being a teammate and a leader from musical ensembles.
Exhibit A:
In marching band, you’re responsible for memorizing music, patterns, and movements—often blind, unable to see the drum major or even the line you’re in. You need to know your part and place with exactitude, and you have to trust that every other person does too. A lack of commitment can mean anything from a missed note to an accident that causes real damage.
You’re a collective. Occasionally a person or section might solo, but the beauty of the show—the picture you’re creating—relies on those solos standing out when needed and then blending back in. Showoffs ruin the experience for everyone.
It requires a leader who keeps you aligned but also trusts you know what you’re doing. It’s hard. And it’s incredibly rewarding.
Exhibit B:
The best leader I ever followed wasn’t a coach. It was Weston Noble, director of the Nordic Choir—one of the most prestigious collegiate choir ensembles in the world. He was small in stature and voice, yet huge in presence. He commanded utter respect and attention, and he did it through compassion for each person in the ensemble, passion for what we could create together, and pure joy at what we did. He was humble—when we succeeded, he deferred recognition to us. And he was willing to have hard conversations. When I was struggling personally my senior year, he noticed, even though I was one of 80, and he spent time with me showing care and giving me honest feedback.
He could bring an 80-voice choir to the pinnacle of musical brilliance by standing in front of us, our eyes unwaveringly locked onto him, while he made only the slightest of movements with his hands. We never doubted him. We never wavered.
That’s leadership.
So why do we keep putting some guy who played two months in the NFL as a third-string linebacker on stage to keynote about being a great leader? I sat through one of those a few years ago. A little research while I was in the room revealed he was a nothing-burger who washed out of sports and pivoted to speaking. Good for him for having the confidence, I guess. But it was impossible to find him credible.
So here’s what I’d posit: the arts teach collaboration, trust, precision, vulnerability, accountability, and the balance between standing out and blending in. Executive teams need all of that.
🎶Maybe it’s time we gave some leadership and teamwork credit to the arts kids.🎶
(That’s my HS senior year Madrigal photo above. Can you find me?)
Looking to increase the cohesion, trust, and impact of your leadership team? Reach out and let’s discuss The Compass Team Experience and how I can help.
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