Pete Carroll at the time of this blog is 72-year-old energetic person who strives to bring out the best in people by focusing on competing every day, being positive and having fun while doing it. He currently is the head coach of the NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks. He joined them in January 2010. During his time with the Seahawks, he led them to 5 NFC West titles, reached the playoffs 10 out of 13 years. Led the team to 2 Super Bowl appearances and won one in 2013.
He’s been a part of drafting and developing players that were overlooked because of lack of certain measurable like height, timed speed, or overall size. Some of the more notable guys he drafted were all pro corner Richard Sherman who measured on the low side when tested his physical ability which led to him being drafted in the 6th round, but there he got a sense of his determination and want to be great. Or Russell Wilson who lacked the typical height of an NFL starting quarterback, measuring in at 5 ft 11 inches when the average height is 6 ft, 3 inches. Tariq Woolen more recently is another player who was drafted in the 5th round because of lack of consistent play in college yet quickly became one of the league’s best at his position.
Pete Carroll had multiple stops in coaching and had many influential coaches along the way, picking up a little bit from everyone to create his own philosophy. One of the fundamental things he learned about coaching from coach Monte Kiffin, who was a long-time defensive coordinator in the NFL, was to be clear, concise, and consistent. That you have a philosophy, or you don’t. If that changes from year to year, then you don’t have one. And a big part of that is knowing yourself. This meant knowing what you want to do and how you want it to go.
Hardships can be an opportunity
He was the head coach of the New York Jets and New England Patriots for a short time in the 1990s where he struggled and was fired from both. He took about a year off from coaching to get to know himself more and better himself. He then got the head coaching job at USC when he was 49 years old and was not well received. The reaction by many was Pete Carroll, the coach that did not make it in the NFL. Many critics considered him a soft and a mediocre coach. That he was too much of a player’s coach, where he listened to them and wanted to make them happy.
In a sport that has a persona for being tough, anything less than showing people you care is taken as being weak. That old school mentality of my way or the highway might have worked for a period of time but with anything in life we know that change is inevitable. People and players nowadays understand that there needs to be more of a relationship with the people that we work with because it brings out a greater desire to give their best going forward.
Pete is an out-of-the-box thinker so he's willing to take chances on the things that he believes will work and actually early on when he was a position coach one of the things he asked his player was why do you play football, why do you do this what drives you in life? And he was met by another coach telling him that you don't ask the players those types of things you just tell them to do what you want and they do it or they don't. And if they don't then they get shown the door or they get some sort of punishment.
Challenging the status quo
Then we wonder why people are not willing to think for themselves. Actually, they do want to think for themselves, but many have been conditioned to not do it because they've been reprimanded for things that they might question, and this can be seen in a negative light by an authoritative figure. It makes them feel insecure that they don't have an answer for what they're being asked about. This is still evident today in the school system, in the work environment where it's just you sit down do your work and shut up. That the more that you're willing to comply the more well received you are because it means that you're not causing a disturbance to the things that are already in place.
Even though those practices could use some improvements or actually just broken in general. Pete empowers his players and coaches because he gives them the autonomy to find what really drives them. He has this natural intuitiveness where he saw something greater than just what football is and what could be. It's interesting because it seems like he uses it as a vehicle to just develop people in general. He was once asked what is more important to him, to win or to compete and he said it's to compete because it brings out the best in you consistently.
This is a great lesson that we all can learn and apply going forward where it's not always about the results that we want but about the progress that we make. Just because we achieve a certain outcome doesn't mean we were better for it, maybe what was achieved was not difficult. We get a greater sense of who we are and what we can do when we are pushed to our limits and can find a way to stretch beyond that. And when that does happen, we build greater confidence within ourselves and one thing about confidence it’s a skill, it's not something that you just have or you don't, it takes time for it to be developed and that comes from overcoming certain things or getting better at something.
But when you achieve something with very little resistance that only inflates the ego and does damage to your confidence. The great thing about confidence is that it understands what it took to get there and will value the process that was done but the ego will take things for granted which leaves one to being greater exposed and vulnerable to taking a massive blow. This is when that rude awakening comes about and sometimes that can come as a great favor to help wake somebody up to what's important.
Uplifting everyone instead of a few
His success in college and the NFL is a focused approach on helping his players reach their full potential. He develops his players by getting to know them, figuring out clearly what is important to each one of them. This helps the players utilize the reason why they play to be better connected to each other and execute at high level. He makes his coaches and players feel cared for, ensuring that those relationships are cared for.
This is just such a great approach that we all should be taking and that we should look for in whatever organization that we choose to join or create. Usually in a team environment or some sort of organization there does tend to be those high performers and obviously they're going to be viewed in a very receptive way where they tend to be the favorites of whoever 's leading the way.
What gets overlooked many times is everybody else where maybe they feel not as valued just because of the comparison to those high performers. This could lead them to not putting their best effort going forward or at least on a consistent basis and that compromises their development. Those in that organization that dictate what goes on should make it a priority to put it emphasis on everybody and not see the laggards as costing us or what's holding us back but instead find a way to make a better connection so they can be better at what they do.
That old school way of just reprimanding people for not getting certain results is a hindrance because it's predicated on fear instead of on the want to be better. And it shows in today's environment we're almost as if the grades dictate how you're treated and viewed by teachers, parents and your peers. The better grades that you get the more that you’re valued by others. And this goes the same way in the work environment.
Pete’s has a great way of looking at people where instead of looking at someone's past to evaluate how they're going to do in the future he focuses on the intangible traits such as being able to handle failure, how do they respond to it and how a player carries themselves when they are on a losing team. Is the effort that they give their all or do they throw in the towel because things are not playing out as they wanted. Pete uses that valuable information that many people tend to overlook and is a big part of why he has transformed the places that he has led. He focuses on people’s behaviors to get an indication of where they are headed.
Free to be yourself
Matt Hasselbeck was the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks early on during Pete’s time and went through a rough period where he threw a lot of interceptions in 2010. In one particular playoff game Matt threw an interception on the first play. He thought he was going to get benched, but Pete stood by him and Matt responded by throwing 4 touchdowns and led the team to victory. Matt said that Pete does not have a lot of rules and he lets you be you, which is very important.
His ability to embrace individualism gives the sense that we are all different and that is not a hinderance. It is a safe environment to be free and not have to apologize for who you are and how you come off. What we need to understand is that we all don't have to like each other so there's not really a need to try to appease one another but we can be respectful at the same time. We can coexist without having to be enemies in any way. But much of society is predicated on rules, things to follow to keep things in order or it appears that way but this leads to controlling people behaviors and ultimately restricting who they are.
While these places might have a somewhat good intention it's mainly there to comply so it's about keeping your mouth shut and following suit to the things that are already in place. And the more that a person complies with the rules that are in place it slowly starts to erode at who they really are.
Think about who you were as a kid and who you are as you're growing up, there's many things that we enjoyed as kids that we're constantly told as we get older that you got to leave that behind, you're not a kid anymore, those are things that adults don’t do. Those behaviors that others or society in general expects us to model are a big part of why many have a hard time being their best. It just feels very unnatural to conform and leads to taking away what makes an individual happy.
Growth begins with being human
Pete does an excellent job of making sure he is helping the players be the best human they can be because that is where it all starts from, being human. To know that we have those rough periods, and it is not just suck it up and perform but to resolve the issues first. He understands that the off-field things that they deal with affect their on-field performance.
The focus is not only on the game but the purpose each player has beyond the game. And those that experience this feel valued and connected to the organization and are more willing to give their best, whereas other organizations are more concerned about getting as much as they can out of a player while they're in the building and once they're not they couldn't care less.
Pete’s very curious, constantly asking questions that leads to trying new things. Because he is one of the more well-known coaches for taking a holistic approach to player development, he will try new things. One player was hesitant to fully embrace Pete’s methods and then saw the value in it. It’s understandable, most places are all about work is work and you do deal with your own problems on your own time.
For the most part people are very hesitant to talk or even think about their own personal development because it's almost like it’s a taboo subject of no I don't want to know the bad things about me or the things that I need to improve on. That's the survival mode trying to keep their self-worth from being damaged because it can be very difficult to know where the weaknesses lie in. It's about I'm fine just as it is because I am who I am.
What gets overlooked is that developing yourself requires work. It's something that is difficult and it's an ongoing process which is why it can be off putting to even want to entertain the idea of bettering oneself because some might take it as you mean I'm not good enough as I am. And that's not the purpose of personal development, it's just getting better to be the best that you can be. Once you can start to taste a little bit of growth it becomes a very significant part of your life that's going to drive you forward where you're constantly looking for it.
Final thoughts
Pete Carroll is a great example of creating an environment to be your best. So while he serves as a football coach he has a greater purpose in developing the players beyond the sport that he coaches but to prepare them for life after his time with him. This truly signifies how much he cares for people. While he doesn't have the most championships, he's made a deep impact on the people that he's gotten to work with. He's able to see beyond what's just on the surface and understands that for us to be developing and growing it requires a connection to ourselves and knowing what drives us. This shows us that it's not just about wins or losses or delivering the results but it's about competing and having fun while you do it.
Cultivate your own environment or find one that allows you to be yourself. To have the patience to be who you are and work through those difficult moments that you find yourself in. With a supportive group it makes the journey that we all take less daunting, and we are better able to embrace all the things that are yet to come. People like Pete Carroll exemplify it's more than what you do but who you are and what drives you that is truly important. That it's not about being the best in whatever field you choose to pursue but it's about being your best self. Let yourself dream big and pursue what you desire.
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