Who’s the Super Bowl MVP of Communication?

Leslie DicksonPosted by Leslie Dickson on February 9th, 2010 | 0 Comments

Who dat? Who dat?  Who dat says they’re gonna lead those Saints? 

They call the quarterback of a football team the field general, and Drew Brees, quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, scores big points for leadership.  Communication plays a key role.  No, we haven’t been in the huddle, and we know he’s not doing PowerPoint presentations in the locker room or writing project outlines and meeting agendas.  Still, we’re willing to bet our souvenir program that the communication skills he shows in public statements mirror his team interactions.  How about a little post-game analysis of his post-Super Bowl interview? Our playbook? Some tips for effective partnerships (find more at VociePro®)

Seek common ground 

Brees spent four years building a bond with his teammates. Their common ground?  A desire to prove their worth. In the interview, he addresses the fact that most of the core of the current roster had joined the Saints as free agents after being released from former teams. “Obviously they were free agents because their other team didn’t want them anymore, thought they couldn’t play anymore and said ‘heck with them…we just all looked at one other and said, ‘We are going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.’”

Of course, Brees brought the whole city of New Orleans into partnership, too. “Four years ago, whoever thought this would be happening? 85 percent of the city was under water…We played for so much more than just ourselves­; we played for our city. We played for the entire Gulf Coast region. We played for the entire Who Dat nation that has been behind us every step of the way.”

Keep the lines of communication open

One Super Bowl translation of this concept could be: look for solutions, not someone to blame.  The Saints failed on a fourth-and-goal conversion near half-time that left them on the wrong end of a 10-3 score.   Pundits started sensing a blowout, but not the Saints.  Surely, Brees’ public comments echo the sideline focus on looking ahead, not behind. “When you get down that far and come away with nothing it’s disappointing, but we needed momentum going into halftime…the defense got it right back for us, and we at least had an opportunity to go down and score points …”  In the half-time locker room, still down 10-6, discussion apparently continued to center on goals instead of shortcomings.  The result? They opted for the gutsy opening move of an onside kick that that paid off in a Super Bowl Ring.

Give respect and appreciation

Let’s start with the game stats: in a 1300-word interview Brees used the word “I” just nine times.  The word “we”?  Try 59 times.  But communicating partnership is about more than pronoun choice.  Brees was quick to give credit where credit was due. “…we just all looked at one other and said, ‘We are going to rebuild together. We are going to lean on each other.’ That’s what we’ve done the last four years and this is the culmination in all that belief…So forever now, all of us, we will walk together as Super Bowl champions, world champions and bringing home the trophy to New Orleans.”

 Take a minute…right now.  What’s your game plan?  How can you be a better communicator, a better partner, a better leader?  Write it down…and we’d love for you to post it here or contact us.

Image by dewittrobinson

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