And these empty-headed, self-serving, a-s-kissing executives, VPs, SDs, and ads all seem ignorant of what leadership actually means-or what it means to take care of your teammates. That's the first rule in sport.
Even the world's greatest individual athletes understand this.
Look at Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, or Vincent Luis. These are elite individual competitors, yet they understand that individual greatness is built on the strength of a team.
They surround themselves with talented subject-matter experts - coaches, trainers, strategists, and advisors. People who bring different perspectives, challenge their thinking, offer honest opinions, and contribute ideas that are DIFFERENT from their own.
And they're genuinely grateful for those people. They recognize that their success depends on the collective talent, commitment, and trust of the team around them.
They don't demand blind loyalty, surround themselves with yes-men, or confuse agreement with competence.
Imagine that. The world's best athletes understand something that Nike's senior leadership apparently doesn't.
Great leaders don't need to be the smartest person in the room. They build teams of exceptional people, listen to them, empower them, challenge them, and, above all, take care of them.
That's how you build trust. That's how you build winning teams. And that's how you build enduring organizations.
Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in your charge.
Nike should understand that better than anyone.
It's sport. It's teamwork. It's leadership. And it's supposed to be in our DNA.
Beautifully said, @ew+1m4nvpzdx.