What Message Did Mark Emmert Send?

The horrific case of Jerry Sandusky and the Penn State administrative cover-up did need response, action and a strong statement from the NCAA and President Mark Emmert.  The question is what was the real message sent by the leadership of the NCAA?  Interesting Ed Ray the Chairman of the Executive Committee and President of Oregon State who introduced Emmert clearly stated, "The message is the presidents and chancellors are in charge."  Yet to me the biggest perpetrator of the Penn State cover-up who enabled the conspiracy was Penn State President Graham Spanier.  University presidents have tremendous power on their own campus and should be able to establish the accepted behaviors and style of the "inner circle" of their top aids.  Everyone in a leader's "inner circle" takes both clues and cues from the boss that impact their own decisions regarding a myriad of different situations.

So while President Ed Ray says that the message is loud and clear that presidents and chancellors are in charge of college athletics, those same individuals need to start accepting that responsibility and send out messages loud and clear that resonate on their own campus that athletics have an important role but not one that operates as an uncontrolled power base within a framework and environment of win at all costs.  Understand that presidents should not need the NCAA to dictate rules and regulations, each university though the leadership of the president or chancellor should have their own set of standards.  Many of the issues surrounding college athletics could and should be handled on campuses through the strong leadership of the CEO.  Why does this not happen?   Easy answer---the presidents do not have the courage to upset prominent alums, donors, etc.  Penn State should be the poster child case for every university CEO to muster up enough courage to make significant change to get college athletics in the proper perspective.

The first two things that every University CEO should do are:

1.  Get coaches salaries under control.  The message sent by paying some head coaches $4 to $5 million so overstates their value and importance that these coaches and the people around them lose perspective on their importance.

2.  Insure that all admitted athletes fall within one standard deviation of the mean (average)  academic admissions standards of the generally enrolled student body.  Once again this measure will clearly state that athletics needs to fit within the framework of the institution.

Remember as a leader "talk is cheap".  Action takes courage, so let us see how many university presidents muster enough courage to take action to show that they are "in charge" and perform "a gut check" just like Chairman Ray challenged in his Penn State sanction press conference.  Hopefully one good thing that comes from Penn State's egregious disregard of responsible leadership will be university presidents taking action not just talking about it.

Coach Paterno's Amazing Career---Teddy Roosevelt Answered His Critics

With the passing of Joe Paterno, what everyone should realize is that the world is a much better place because of Joseph Vincent Paterno. The recent disclosures of the Jerry Sandusky scandal should not detract from all the great things that JoePa accomplished in his life. Just hearing the comments from his players speaks volumes about the impact he had on lives. The good that this man did for many people in so many different ways can never be measured. Hopefully he will be remembered as an American icon who represented so many of the values of a great society. The big question, is how will the media and the spin doctors paint his portrait?

One key lesson to be learned from Paterno is that as a leader you will always be under constant scrutiny. The talking heads, print media and folks on the periphery, will all have better ways to do things. After the fact, they will have all the answers. For a coach they will have more knowledge of who should have played and what plays should have been called. For any leader, realize you will be second-guessed and criticized. However you need to understand two things:

1. You earned the right through your efforts to be in a position to make those decisions.
2. You had the courage to accept that leadership role and be willing to make those decisions.

So my advice to every leader is---- feel good about the fact that you are a leader and not someone who sits in the background and makes disparaging comments when the result is not perfect. Do not be one of those status quo managers who are afraid to make a decision because some outsider might question it. Did Coach Paterno make all the right decisions? No, but he did make a ton of great decisions that affected so many lives in a positive manner. Hopefully everyone will focus on all the great things he accomplished, not the media storm of the last three months. For me, I always want individuals with me who are not paralyzed by the thought of the outsiders’ criticism. Not doing anything is the sign of no leadership and no progress. Interestingly, Coach Paterno never relinquished his willingness to serve the role of leader.

I would encourage every leader to make a copy of this great quote by Teddy Roosevelt and keep it somewhere close to you so you can read it periodically. It probably more than anything perfectly brings into focus the reality of leadership and Coach Paterno's career.

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so this place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat."

Penn State's Next Move--Unbelievably Important

What is the next move for Penn State? Everything from dropping football to suspending play for a year has been recommended. Irrespective of how they move forward, the most critical piece of this difficult puzzle is to find a great leader who has the charisma and integrity to save both the program and the University. This individual needs to have both the stature and credibility to make the correct decisions, understanding that this job is much more than being a head football coach, it is being the savior of a very prestigious and accomplished University. There will be no second chances for the next head coach and very little margin for error. Additionally, the next head coach for the Nittany Lions should have a huge reservoir of equity from the standpoint of having built their own personal brand of principled, focused and carefully thought out leadership.

In my viewpoint the pool of available individuals who meet these standards is relatively small. The one individual who I would make a mad dash to recruit for the successor to JoePa is Tony Dungy. Dungy brings so many positive personality and leadership traits to the dance that his selection would make such a strong statement regarding the expectations of Penn State. The name recognition from his days as Head Coach of the Colts and the Buccaneers along with his television exposure on NBC’s Football Night In American, assures a solid recruiting environment that is attractive to potential recruits. His position as national spokesman for All Pro Dad will endear him to parents. Additionally Dungy is a good football coach who builds super strong bonds with his athletes. Realistically he has a proven track record of winning championships the right way. Yet most of all, in all of sport, no one is recognized as having a better value system than the former University Of Minnesota quarterback.

So to recap what Coach Dungy’s leadership skill bring :

1. Credibility
2. Equity from winning
3. Charisma
4. Respect from numerous constituent groups
5. Proven track record
6. Solid set of core values
7. Toughness to make right decision
8. Knowledge of the Big Picture

While I am not a huge proponent of the break the bank mentality of paying high profile coaches, I would get on a plane with a key to the vault and do everything in my power to encourage Tony Dungy to accept this challenge for the next five years. After he has stabilized the program, he would then have the opportunity to continue his tenure or replace himself with his own chosen successor. At 55 years old, Tony Dungy could have one last great coaching run but more importantly he could have an unbelievable impact on the future of a great University and hundreds of thousands of its students, alumni, faculty and staff. For once, I think this is blank check time in Central Pennsylvania. The investment in Dungy will pay for itself hundred of times over. The cost of not having a leader of this magnitude would be a price that Penn State cannot afford to pay.

A Leadership Challenge---the Circle of Privilege

In economics there is a concept called the circle of poverty that is defined as "set of factors or events by which poverty, once started, is likely to continue unless there is outside intervention." In many organizations and particularly in sports organizations there is a similar situation which I call the "circle of privilege".  Once privilege is granted to one individual in as much as they are exempt from the standard policies and responsibilities, the genie is out of the jar.  The "circle of privilege" will continue with coaches setting their own agendas and priorities while feeling no accountability to their supervisor.  They will create their own culture (Penn State, Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma,etc.).  Individuals who are treated as privileged will perpetuate that type of situation either in their current organization or one to which they ascend.  The culture of coaching is particularly vulnerable to the "circle of privilege" because there is no formal training of coaches in the USA so coaches learn their trade through on the job training and assume many characteristics of their mentors.  An assistant coach at Big Time U who has been exposed to the superstar head coach, when hired at Mid Major U as Head Coach, will have similar expectations and ideas of his/her importance and control.  As a leader (Athletic Director) and someone who is the ultimate decision maker on the hiring of this coach, you must clearly set the expectations and responsibilities of the coach so there is no cloudiness as to who is in charge.  If left to his/her own devices and experiences, the new coach will continue the  "circle of privilege".  Naturally as the superstar coach's  proteges find new leadership positions and allowed to institute their own set of priorities, the "circle of privilege" grows exponentially.   Because the hiring of head coaches come from the pool of assistants from the Big Time U's,  the true power in college athletics has ultimately shifted to the coaches.  Until University leadership is willing to break the chain of the "circle of privilege", college athletics will continue to suffer through scandals like Penn State, Ohio State, Miami and USC.  As a leader you need to accept your role and not submit your authority to anyone irrespective of their status or public image.  Until leaders break the "circle of prestige", college athletics will be very much like a battleship with no one at the helm,  a huge force that will create its own path.  Leaders need set the course and make sure everyone is headed in the same direction with no ulterior motives that detract from the common good for group, organization or team.  By establishing parameters when individuals are placed in positions of authority in regard to what their boundaries are on the front end, there should be very situations when those people exceed their power.

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JoPa---the Superstar Coach Paradiigm

Many people wonder how such a horrific sexual abuse of children and it's cover-up could actually happen and be minimized at such a prestigious institution as Penn State.  The reason and underlying reality is that Universities (and other bottom line organization) create an environment that facilitates the "Superstar Coach Paradigm".
What happens is that Athletic Directors and intermediate leaders face an incredibly complex challenge because while they are the "boss" (at least on the formal organizational chart), they have very limited control of the "superstar" who works for them. The Athletic Director's supervisors and super-ordinates develop relationships with the "superstar coach" and  then provide them unadulterated access to the ultimate decision makers (Presidents and Board Members) that basically subverts all power of the Athletic Director.  At many universities, football and basketball coaches are the most visible and influential individuals on campus.  They have incredible access and power.  They have access to the media and a platform to promote themselves, their programs and their ideas.  At Penn State Paterno had a significant impact on the culture at State College as he was given carte blanche to operate the football program.  Presidents and board members fall prey to this dysfunctional organizational structure by allowing total control by"superstar coaches". They fall prey to this recipe for disaster for many of the following reasons: the Halo Effect, access to powerful supporters and donors who become friends of the coach, being part of the inner circle of the "superstar coach and recognition as the individual who provides the foundation for success for the "superstar coach".  When this lack of control builds  an environment where the coach is not held accountable for anything grows rapidly.  The coach's won-lost record becomes the sole criteria in which he/she is evaluated.  The standards that other coaches or employees are held to, are not applied to the "superstar coach".  Soon coaches realize they are bigger than everything else and start to only answer to themselves.  PSU Athletic Director Tim Curley (who I served with on the NCAA Championship cabinet for 4 years)  became the poster child for this type of situation as he became only a figurehead as Paterno's boss.  As a leader you have to understand that this situation is very real and you will need to deal with it.  What do you do?  Here are my five recommendations.

1.  Do not look past behaviors, actions or bad decisions that need to be addresses and do it in a timely manner.
2.  Communicate with the "superstar" regarding your objectives, thoughts and plans and make sure they understand.  Remember that communication is a two way street that includes straightforward discourse that includes both speaking and listening.
3. Be omnipresent.  When leaders are always around, they hear and see many things and develop a sense of what is happening.  Being hidden in your office is a sure fire way to have surprises knock on your door.
4.  Have courage.  There will be times when you have to tell the "superstar coach" or the president things they do not want to hear.  In the long run they will be much better off for your truthfulness.
5.  Make the tough right indecisions even though they may be unpopular at the time. Those tough unpopular decisions will be appreciated at a later date.  At the time it may seem painful but it does not compare when problems are ignored or "covered up".

Everyone in the Penn State situation is a big loser.  This horrific tragedy for these children and all the other individuals affected could have been avoided if the this "superstar coach" paradigm would have been squelched and diffused.  No one was willing to step up as a true leader and deal with a difficult situation.  Please take solace when making tough and unpopular decisions, you will have internal satisfaction knowing you did the right thing.