Five strategies to help teams thrive under pressure — both on the field and in the office
The NFL is back! As we’re all enjoying the games and highlights, it’s easy to forget that there’s a lot more to the NFL than just football.
It’s one of the most competitive, high-stakes organizations in the world. Off the field, some of the best leaders in the world are building strategies, cultures, and systems that (they hope) add up to a win on any given Sunday.
That’s why I love talking with NFL leaders on my How Leaders Lead podcast. They’re leading in an environment where pressure is relentless, turnover is constant, and the margin for error is razor thin.
And the strategies they use to drive success in the NFL can help you and your team win, too.
In fact, here are five leadership moves straight from my podcast conversations with NFL leaders that you can “steal” for your own playbook.
1. Never rest on your laurels
🎙Roger Goodell, NFL Commissioner
When Roger Goodell stepped into the commissioner role, the NFL was already the most successful sports league in the world. The easy move would have been to guard the status quo.
But Goodell knows that nothing kills momentum faster than complacency.
So instead of coasting, he kept asking: How do we get better? That mindset drove the NFL to expand into international markets, and to elevate things like the draft into unmissable events so fans stay engaged year round.
Stealable strategy: Success is never a finish line. Celebrate the wins, but keep hunting for new ways to grow. Ask: If we were still the underdog, what bold moves would we make now? You may have to remind people on your team that NOT taking risks can be risky, too.
2. Stay out ahead of big shifts
🎙 Dawn Hudson, former CMO of the NFL
When Dawn Hudson joined the NFL as CMO, she noticed younger fans weren’t engaging with football in the same way their parents did. Boomers and Gen Xers were loyal to a single team for life, usually tied to where they grew up. But Millennials and Gen Z fans were more interested in fantasy leagues, highlight clips, and following their favorite players across platforms.
Hudson leaned into that shift. She expanded NFL marketing beyond regional loyalties to focus on player stories, digital content, and fantasy engagement — all ways to meet younger fans where they were. That foresight has helped keep the NFL relevant even as the media landscape has changed dramatically.
Stealable strategy: Don’t just market to the audience you already have. Study how new generations interact with your product, then adapt your strategy to fit their behavior, not your old playbook. The earlier you spot the shift, the easier it will be to stay relevant.
3. Get dialed into your data
🎙Jimmy Haslam, Owner of the Cleveland Browns
In business, Jimmy Haslam was used to having answers at his fingertips. If he walked into a Pilot Flying J store and asked how a product was selling, managers could pull up sales figures, margins, and trends instantly. That kind of precision helped him make better decisions.
When Haslam took over the Cleveland Browns, he wanted the same edge. So he hired Paul DePodesta, of Moneyball fame, to bring analytics into football operations. Instead of just relying on scouting reports or gut instincts, the Browns began layering in data to guide player evaluation, contracts, and long-term roster building.
Stealable strategy: Whatever your industry, don’t just make decisions on instinct. Ground them in facts, use data to balance short-term pressure with long-term goals, and create a common language your whole team can trust.
4. Build culture relentlessly
🎙 Clark Hunt, Owner of the Kansas City Chiefs
When Clark Hunt joined me on How Leaders Lead earlier this month, he told me something shocking about their team.
Only six players from the Chiefs’ 2019 Super-Bowl-winning roster are still on the team today. There is constant churn on their roster, with 15–20 new faces joining the locker room each year.
That’s why Clark is big on culture. Along with Andy Reid and team leaders like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, he knows every season starts fresh. New players have to quickly learn what it means to “do things the Chiefs way” by putting the team above self, embracing accountability, and buying into the organization’s standards.
That shared foundation is a big reason the Chiefs have been so consistently successful over the last few years, appearing in five out of the last six Super Bowls.
Stealable strategy: Don’t assume your culture is “set.” With turnover and growth, you’re always onboarding people into your way of doing things. Be relentless about reinforcing values and expectations — every project, every hire, every season.
5. Develop people, not just performance
🎙Eric Wood, former All-Pro center, Buffalo Bills
NFL locker rooms are intense. Every mistake is magnified, and accountability is non-negotiable. But Eric Wood, who anchored the Bills’ offensive line for nine seasons, realized that how you hold people accountable matters.
As he put it: “I always wanted to be demanding without demeaning.”
When a teammate blew a blocking assignment, it would’ve been easy to bark at them or pile on criticism. Instead, he would share how he once struggled with the same thing, point them to film of other players who had mastered it, and even offer to stay after practice to work on it.
That approach set a high bar with a clear message: get this right, because the team is counting on you. But he did it without crushing his teammate’s confidence or dignity.
Stealable strategy: As a leader, be demanding without being demeaning. Set high expectations, but pair them with empathy and practical support. That way, people walk away motivated to grow instead of retreating into self-doubt.
Wrapping it up
At the end of the day, NFL leaders wrestle with the same challenges you do: staying hungry after success, spotting shifts in the marketplace, making smart decisions, building culture, and developing people.
The difference? Their leadership gets tested under the brightest lights imaginable. That pressure makes the lessons they’ve learned even more valuable for the rest of us.
So the next time you’re leading through change, hiring new talent, or building your team’s culture, ask yourself: what play could I steal from the NFL?
And then tell me in the comments — which one of these strategies do you think will make the biggest difference for you?
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