“Responsibility equals accountability equals ownership.

And a sense of ownership is the most powerful weapon a team or organization can have.”

All great leaders say they want to build culture and lead by example. They want buy-in from their team, respect, and commitment from their staff. But most focus on the wrong things. They think leadership is about what they say. It's not.

Your team doesn't follow your words. They follow your energy.

This is what most leaders miss: your people are watching everything. Not just your speeches or your game plans - they're watching how you walk into the building. They're watching your body language when things go wrong. They're watching whether you hold yourself to the same standard you demand from them.

Ask yourself:

It takes self-awareness and energy to lead by example because it is constant. It requires you to be consistent in your actions, attitude, and approach. The best leaders are always thinking about the energy in the room.

Before coaching a single day with the Warriors, Steve Kerr thought he had everything figured out. He'd spent years designing plays, studying offensive systems, and preparing technically.

Then Pete Carroll asked him one question that changed everything: "So how are you gonna coach your team?"

When Kerr responded with "You mean like what offense we're gonna run?" Carroll stopped him cold: "No, no, that stuff doesn't even matter."

Carroll explained his own journey - he'd been fired from the NFL despite knowing football inside and out because he didn't understand coaching. He spent time with Bill Walsh learning something crucial: it's not just about having values, it's about making them come alive every single day.

Carroll asked Kerr what his values were. Kerr admitted he hadn't thought it through.

This is the gap most leaders never close. They have strategies and systems but no foundation underneath. Carroll told Kerr to go home and think about what mattered most in his own life. Kerr came back with ten things. Carroll said narrow it to four: joy, competitiveness, mindfulness, and compassion. Those became the foundation of everything Kerr built with the Warriors - not because they were strategically optimal, but because they were authentically him.

Players have to feel the authenticity of who you actually are, not who you think you should be.

👉 Inside Premium this week, I broke down Steve Kerr's complete leadership framework - including how he makes values come alive daily, why authenticity beats strategy, and the specific practices that built a dynasty. → Upgrade today

After Bill Parcells' first season with the New York Giants, the organization tried to fire him. They pursued other coaches, couldn't close a deal, and brought him back almost by default. Most people would have been bitter. Parcells got clarity.

From that moment on, he built everything around three simple rules that eliminated excuses, entitlement, and hesitation. Two Super Bowls later, those rules still hold up.

The power of this framework is what it removes. Most people spend their energy on blame, entitlement, and waiting. They point fingers when things go wrong. They expect credit they haven't earned. They wait for perfect conditions that never come. Parcells' rules cut all of that out immediately.

Blame keeps you a victim. The moment you point fingers, you give away your power. You're saying the outcome is someone else's fault, which means the solution is someone else's responsibility. Champions own everything - the outcome, the mistakes, the work. All of it. Blaming is how average people stay average.

Expecting nothing creates drive. When you assume anyone owes you something - playing time, recognition, opportunity - you create entitlement. And entitlement kills effort. When you expect nothing, you show up ready to earn it, not waiting for it to be given.

Doing something is where it all matters. Stop talking, stop planning, stop waiting for perfect conditions. The only thing that changes your situation is doing the work. Not thinking about it. Doing it.

Ask yourself: Where am I still blaming? What am I expecting that I haven't earned? What action am I avoiding right now?

For coaches and leaders:

For athletes and performers:

All of these posts and more are in the Coaching Vault.

What I am reading and listening to:

📚 Book: The Mind Strength Playbook by Luke Falk

🎥 Video: Mike Tomlin on Pitt legacy, Super Bowls, Flores Hiring & Future without Big Ben | The Pivot Podcast

🎧Podcast: Jay Bilas On: Coach K’s Secrets, Sports Gambling, GOAT Debate + Journey to ESPN | The Victory Degree Podcast

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