We asked members of our team add a book to their summer reading list: Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle. They then shared which bits of Bill Campbell’s wisdom on teamwork, leadership, community-building, and more resonated with them most as professionals.
Here were their key takeaways:
Building An Envelope Of Trust
A point that stood out to me in Chapter 3 was how having trust makes it much easier to disagree with your peers and still be able make a decision.
-Pat McGuckin, VP – Mid-Atlantic Region
Only Coach The Coachable
Bill’s advice was to “only coach the coachable,” but I believe that people have to be coachable in order to grow.
-Delaney Moye, Client Delivery Manager
Practice Free-form Listening
John Wooden’s quote about listening couldn’t ring truer: “We’d all be a lot wiser if we listened more; not just hearing the words, but listening and not thinking about what we’re going to say.”
-Jeff McLaughlin, VP – Niche Practice Manager
Fill The Gaps Between People
It’s the manager’s job to take action and bridge gaps between people or teams. Leaders need to make sure everyone is being heard, but should also help them to understand the ramifications of internal blame games and poor communication. It’s not until people learn how their choices impact others that they can change their ways for the better.
-Joe Schimpf, Chief Financial Officer
Heads Held High
Letting go of employees is part of business; while letting someone go is no picnic, leaders should focus on keeping the human element in it. What’s most important, though, is how leaders handle layoffs while everyone else is watching.
-Pat McGuckin, VP – Mid-Atlantic Region
Always Build Communities
Teams should strive to act like communities by integrating interests and putting aside differences to move towards being individually and collectively obsessed with what’s good for the company. When people feel like they are a part of a supportive community at work, they become more engaged with their jobs.
-Marie Romano, President – Healthcare Division
The Humanity Of Winning
Leaders should establish a “culture of winning” in which people should strive to win as a team and not as individuals. This means winning right with commitment, teamwork, and integrity.
-Jeff McLaughlin, VP – Niche Practice Manager
Start With Trip Reports
Starting off meetings by discussing our personal lives is a great idea; when everyone in the room connects with one another on a personal level, they can then approach the work agenda with a better understanding.
-Daniel Eppich, Regional Vice President – Chicago
Managing The Aberrant Genius
If someone is really good at what they do, but demonstrate difficult behavior, leaders should determine whether their value to the team is worth the headache.
-Steve Heller, Director of Sales
The Percussive Clap
A great manager is one who can pump people up and make them exceed their goals.
-Sarah Martin, President
Work The Team, Not The Problem
Bill’s strategy for problem-solving stood out to me; it makes sense to first ensure the right team is in place to even be able to start tackling the problem.
-Junette Eng, Director of Operations
The Rule Of Two
I thought that the “rule of two” was a neat concept to reduce the tension within a team as they face a challenging decision. By appointing two people closely involved with the decision to devise the best solution, leaders can effectively delegate the work to people and empower them at the same time. This reminded me of how we created committees to solve issues we were facing last year, and people felt empowered to step up and help the organization.
-Brett Buttacavoli, Recruiting Manager
The Trillion-Dollar Coach
You have to be a great coach in order to be a great leader. Athletic coaches get down into the trenches and at the player level in order to open up their eyes. Great leaders in a professional environment should perform in a similar way; they can help their producers overcome obstacles by stepping down to their level.
-Ben Sanborn, VP of Sales
Don’t Stick It In Their Ear
I identified with what Campbell said about giving feedback through storytelling; throughout my recruiting career at MMI, I have found success in using stories to help others with scenarios that they are dealing with.
-Alex Cohen-Smith, Development Manager
No Gap Between Statements And Fact
Bill believed in “relational transparency”: he would listen, then would provide honest—albeit rough—feedback. But even his negative feedback would be received positively because of the place it was coming from—his heart.
-Derek Kunkel, Senior Technical Recruiter
The Power Of Love
One important takeaway from this book was when they touched on the importance of genuinely loving your co-workers. Love is not limited to your family; it should be part of your professional relationships in order to break down walls that keep us from being truly “human” at work.
-Jeff McLaughlin, VP – Niche Practice Manager
Pair People
Chapter 4 talks about picking the right people and the value of peer relationships. Although it could happen organically, Bill knew never to leave it to chance. His advice was that leaders should give people a push toward building these relationships—and this could be achieved simply by pairing people up to work on an assigned task or project.
-Paul Casale, Recruiting Manager
Move On As Fast As Possible
Bill’s advice was that leaders should stop infighting immediately by letting those involved constructively air their concerns and then move on. That way, tension among the group doesn’t fester.
-Jason Jacoby, VP – Regional Recruiting
The Lovely Reset
I was moved by how much Bill truly cared to get to know people. In our professional lives, it’s so easy to get wrapped up in the workday and go through the motions without stopping to really get to know the people that work alongside us.
-Dawn Ponico, VP – Human Resources
Pick The Right Players
That quote from Stanford professor Carol Dweck resonated with me: someone’s true potential is unknowable since “it’s impossible to foresee what can be accomplished with years of passion, toil, and training.” Don’t just pick someone based on their experience; search for people with smarts, hard work, integrity and grit.
-Liz Stephens, Client Delivery Manager
Go Full Steam Ahead
Bill’s business philosophy in Chapter 2 stuck out to me: “if you have the right product for the right market at the right time, go as fast as you can.” Sometimes, when the situation is right, you should run with something with the potential to be successful and figure out the minor details later.
-Robert Williams, VP of Sales