Leading With Defined Goals and a Strong Vision

Closing general session keynote Peyton Manning shared his experience on leading teams by clearly defining goals and principles.

October 21, 2016

ATLANTA – When Peyton Manning threw his last pass in his last professional football game, and closed the chapter on an 18-year NFL career as one of the most decorated and celebrated quarterbacks who ever played the game, he didn’t know for sure that Super Bowl 50 would be his last game. But he knew it was possible, and after his team, the Denver Broncos, won the biggest NFL game on its biggest stage, Manning retired shortly after, a tearful farewell to a sport he’s played most of his life.

But before he retired, he spoke with his family and shared his retirement plans with his five-year-old daughter, who responded as only a child could: “Does this mean we have to move into one of those homes now?”

Looking back, Manning shared during his keynote address at the NACS Show on Friday his experiences and lessons learned while surviving and thriving for 18 years in one of the “most brutal and exciting games anyone can hope to be a part of.” The main lesson: leadership.

During his first year in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts, after a highly successful college career, Manning found himself among a sea of giants, men who were bigger, stronger and much more adept at the fast-paced NFL environment that so many rookies experience. Manning said he was quickly right-sized—humbled—and adjusted his approach to earn the respect and platform he needed to be a vocal leader for his teammates. “When you’re new, people want to see action,” he said.

As a quarterback, Manning assumed his leadership role throughout his career with passion and a goal-based game plan both on and off the field. After four surgeries, a trade to a new team and rehabilitation to get back on the field, he had his fair share of setbacks. But it was his team that helped him get back on the field. “Public glories shouldn’t be what propel leaders,” he shared with attendees, adding that it’s tough to execute a successful reinvention “if you have to do it on your own.”

And in the business world, the lessons in leadership are much the same. “Every business has its share of powerful leaders and its share of frauds, but there are also leaders under construction; people who emerge … Nobody starts out as a leader,” he said, adding that leadership isn’t handed to people; it’s earned, and in sum it’s the ability to influence others.

Being a leader today is no easy task, said Manning, noting that the nimbleness you need to be successful can be daunting, and it requires the ability to pivot and change strategy without compromising the vision.

“I don’t ‘pivot’ all that easy” and as a player he wasn’t described as nimble, but Manning said his vision was to compete with the very best at the highest level, and he never strayed from that.

In closing, Manning shared that the key to leadership is attitude. “As a leader you’re either all in or all out.”

The NACS Show wrapped up today with the expo. Be sure to catch up on all of the excitement at nacsshow.com and read a full recap of the event in the upcoming November issue of NACS Magazine.

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