How you doing, welcome back to another edition of Leadership & Legacy, my bi-weekly newsletter where I provide actionable ideas to help you become a great leader (the one you know you can be). Don’t be surprised if I throw in a few exclusive behind the scenes stories from my life as an entrepreneur, former NFL athlete, and father.

Today at a Glance

• What Urban Meyer taught me about leader-FULL teams

• The 10/80/10 principal

• My son ballin’ out

Urban Meyer on Culture

“Every organization has a culture, either by design or by default.”

What a great line from Urban’s book, Above the Line.

If you watched the documentary Swamp Kings, you probably have a limited idea of the culture Urban designed for us at Florida. Yes, 200% effort at all times was a big part of the team’s identity, and this is a noble value for any team (sports or corporate) to have. But what I want to cover today is what the documentary touched less on: Urban’s approach to leadership and the 10/80/10 principal.

Leader-FULL Teams

Coach Meyer never believed in a leadership structure where there was one head leader with 99 followers. He believed in a structure where each and every player was a leader.

He taught us that leadership starts within and starts with how we respond to situations. If we could lead ourselves, we could lead others.

Here are the 6 Response Factor Disciplines that Urban us:

1. Press Pause –Take a second to pause and take a deep breath. Gets you off autopilot, and focuses you on acting with purpose and intentionally.

2. Get Your Mind Right – Purpose mindset (above the line) vs survival mindset (below the line).

3. Step Up – Understand the situation and understand your role in the situation. Respond above the line.

4. Adjust and Adapt – Once your mind is right, you can think about where you are now and where you want to go next.

5. Make a Difference – Complete ownership of the experience you give others and your contribution to the team.

6. Build Skill – Talent is the foundation; elite performers build skill on top of their talents.

The 10/80/10 Principal

Still, the cream always rises to the top, and while everyone can be a leader, some will naturally stand out more on teams. Urban was always mindful of who the leaders were on the team. More accurately, he was always asking himself, ‘who was everyone looking up to?’ I happened to be one of those guys which is why I’ve had so many conversations on leadership with Coach Meyer.

The 10/80/10 Principal assumes each team has:

• Top 10 percenters – Nucleus of the team, relentless effort all the time, sense of self-discipline, pursuit of improvement, the elite.

• Middle 80 percenters – The majority of the group, reliable, good work, trustworthy and dutiful, but lacking the drive and effort exhibited by the elite.

• Bottom 10 percenters – Defiant and uninterested, coasting by, unmotivated, coach killers.

With this in mind, he would always pair guys like me (top 10) up with middle 80 percenters in the gym, at practice, even at meals, to inspire and lead them by example. He knew he wouldn’t be able to motivate the middle 80 on his own, and that for the team to succeed, he would need to empower the top 10 to be doing the leading.

Key Questions for You:

1. Is your team culture built more by design or by default?

2. Who are your 10/80/10-ers?

3. What are some ways you could pair up the your top 10 with your middle 80?

Feel free to respond to this email with your answers above and let’s chat.

My Son Ballin’ Out

You know me, I’m a family man first, so I had to feature my son Zion’s sweet put back dunk at the Rocky Top Invitational.