Most head football coaches are promoted from the coordinator ranks. They are typically outstanding in their role, which gains them notoriety in their field. What is interesting is that whichever side of the ball they come from, either offense or defense follows them and shapes they way they lead the staff for years to come. Some even continue to call plays in their area of expertise.

I realized this phenomenon translates really well to business. In progression to leadership, I started out focusing on the defensive side of the business, bottom line improvement. As an engineer supporting manufacturing my performance was measured in efficiencies and savings. I supported the offense (top line growth) on an as needed basis, but this was not my primary area of expertise. Now that I have assumed an executive leadership role, I have retained that characteristic of focusing bottom line first. It has taken some time to come to this revelation and definitely shaped my team as I work to balance the organizational expertise around these tendencies. As in football it inevitably takes both a good offense and defense to ultimately be successful, so that balance is an absolute requirement.

So which are you, an offensive or defensive head coach (leader)? Have those tendencies followed you into your current position? If so, how are you creating balance?