We’re a wk removed from the Super Bowl, & there are some incredible storylines still being discussed:
Of course on the positive side, we’re still hearing abt Tom Brady making it to his 10th Big Game, winning his 7th Title, 5th MVP. At 43, he’s showing how productive athletes can be, well into their 40s.
Then on the “interesting” side of things, we’re seeing images & videos of boat parties, after the victory, where the Bucs seemed to be having a good time playing catch w the vaunted Lombardi Trophy over a body of water.
And then there’s the storyline highlighted in the title of this article: how Bucs head coach Bruce Arians (known as a demanding leader), told his coaching staff (the most diverse at the coordinator level in the whole NFL) that he’d fire them if they missed their kids’ events. One of the quotes from his interview: “Those years don’t come back. Those kids are not going to be there forever. They’re going to grow up & be gone.” He didn’t want his staff to miss out like he did.
Such a great storyline, right? Except for one thing – I fooled you by taking out the date that this article was published: it was February, but of 2019 – when Arians was first hired by the Bucs, before Brady committed.
This was a “cute” story, at a time when discussing a coach who’d never won it all…who’d had an unimpressive last couple of yrs w the Cardinals as head coach.
And now, after winning on the biggest stage in sports – google this storyline for 2021 & you won’t find it anywhere in recent articles.
A guy who looked out for his staff – told them to take time for their FAM…for the things that truly matter, even while being told they needed to work hard, & it’s not a BIG part of the victory story?
These are the positive leadership stories we need to highlight. You can be a demanding leader & still prioritize balance & what’s impt. We need to champion these leaders/these stories – so that this type of leadership is encouraged more often. Clearly you can win this way – working hard but still making time for fam/self care…(maybe even resulting in MORE wins).
