Drew Brees---R-E-S-P-E-C-T

“It’s like a movie,man. Just a movie ending. It’s beautiful….You could tell everyone’s reaction after he did it how much people care about the guy. We all love him.” That quote by New Orleans Saints’ offensive lineman Carl Nix sums up up the kind of feelings that the entire city of New Orleans expressed after Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s single season passing record for most yards.
In today’s sports world it is great to see someone so accomplished be so respected and handle everything with class and dignity. Brees’ leadership style includes none of the brashness or self-serving actions of many of the big ego coaches and players in today’s sports world. Instead Brees is about the team and the success of the team. He has figured out that the success of the group will greatly exceed personal success and everyone involved will benefit exponentially. Expressing his feelings regarding his record-setting achievement, the qb emphasized, “There are so many people that are a part of this. It’s not about me. It’s about this team, it’s about this city, it’s about these fans. So many people contributed to this and I am happy for them.”
Brees, a second round draft pick put of Purdue, has fought his way to the top by persevering through doubts about his size and a severe injury with major surgery to his throwing shoulder. Rather than display an arrogance by demanding “respect” through his words, he chose to earn that respect by his performance and positive attitude. He has gained respect of all the Saints and the entire community not only by his play and leadership on the field, but by becoming a symbol of the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Crescent City’s rebirth. By putting his “money where his mouth is”, he created the Brees Dream Foundation to help rebuild and restore academic and athletic facilities and the opportunities for children that were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
The respect that Drew Brees has increasingly gained over the years by his actions has provided the environment to help set the course for an entire community. As a leader if you can build that respect, your chance of becoming an effective leader will grow significantly as more people respect you. Remember the old axiom----Actions Speak Louder Than Words. Accept this as your mantra and the respect you need to be a great leader will be just around the corner.