The 5 secrets to leadership the world’s biggest Business Coach taught the leaders of Silicon Valley

Coach Bill Campbell

Occasionally you stumble over that one book that ignites something in you. I just did that over the weekend.

Former CEO of Google Eric Schmidt’s book, “Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell” — written with two other Google executives — reveals the best bits of wisdom from the legendary executive advisor, who passed away at age 75 in 2016.

And then you might rightfully say, Bill who? Most outsiders will not have heard about Campbell who originally started his career as a college football coach.

Bill Campbell was dubbed the “trillion dollar coach” for the collective value of the companies with which he worked. Campbell acted as an unpaid mentor at Google until his death in 2016, but also coached executives at eBay, Facebook, Apple and Twitter, among others.

As a business coach, Campbell’s role was not to oversee specific projects and give his opinions on strategic issues, but to make the executive teams work together – and get the best out of each other.

Below, I have tried to summarize my take on the 5 key takeaways on leadership from what is probably the best business coach the world has ever seen.

1. Pick the right players

The top priority of any manager is the well-being and success of her people. Yes, your title makes you a manager, but it is your people that make you a leader. In short, great managers help people excel and grow. When faced with a problem or opportunity, the first step is to ensure the right team is in place and working on it. The top characteristics to look for are smarts and hearts; the ability to learn fast, a willingness to work hard, integrity, grit, empathy and a team-first attitude.

And yes, when I have been coaching successful companies, they do have the team in place. That doesn’t mean that they do not have issues to solve – but they will overcome them, as the team is in place.

A trick to learn from Bill:
To build rapport and better relationships among team members, start every meeting with “trip reports”, or other types of more personal non-business topics. I.e. where did the weekend trip go to, how did you spend your Sunday etc.

Allow time to get to know each-other and what goes on in your everyday life. To care about people, you must care about people: Ask about their lives outside of work, understand their families, and when things get rough, be there.

2. Every business needs a decision-maker

The CEO should give members of the team an opportunity to express their point of view, but ultimately then the CEO must decide the best option. There is only one throne behind the round table. And remember, when things are going bad, teams are looking for even more loyalty, commitment and decisiveness from their leaders. Always start by solving the biggest problem first, the “elephant in the room”, bring it front and center, and tackle it first.

I have been in too many leadership team meetings, that have taken way too long. Not that anybody is planning for this, but because nobody dares take the responsibility of taking a stance and make the decision.

A trick to learn from Bill:
Let team members express their point of view and learn to listen. But always make sure that there is one (or several) person(s) that decide.

Listen to people with your full and undivided attention - don’t think ahead on what you’re going to say next - and ask questions to get to the real issue. Bring out the facts – kill the myths – and decide.

3. Leadership starts with trust

It is a myth that the best teams have complementary skills and same personalities. What makes strong teams are mutual trust. If you don’t trust your teammates, nobody is willing to go out on a limb for anyone.

I know this is not a new one. However, making the time and effort to build trust within a team is so important, yet a delicate matter. But it starts by being willing to believe in someone or something – and at the end of the day, that’s a decision each team member has to make on their own.

A trick to learn from Bill:
Believe in people more than they believe in themselves. And push them to be more courageous.

Spend time on setting the right team and building trust on an ongoing basis. And be mindful, if you start seeing signs of mistrust among team members. To quote Lady Gaga “Trust is like a mirror, you can fix it if it's broken, but you can still see the crack in that mother fucker's reflection.”

4. Permission to be empathetic

Leading teams becomes a lot more joyful, and the teams are effective, when you know and care about the people. People are most effective when they can be completely themselves and bring their full identity to work. Business can be ruthless, especially in its pursuit of profit and efficiency, but humanity is necessary too.

To create great results and teams, you need to understand and pay attention to human values. They are part of who we all are, regardless of our age, level, or status. Positive human values generate positive business outcomes. However, this is a connection that too many business leaders ignore.

A trick to learn from Bill:
It is ok to love people – also at work. Listen, observe, and fill the communication and understanding gaps between people.

Loving colleagues in the workplace may be challenging, so practice it until it becomes more natural – and cheer demonstrably for people and their successes.

5. Every team needs a coach

Every sports team needs a coach and the best coaches make good teams great. The same goes in business. Coaching is the best way to mold effective people into powerful teams.

The traits that make a person coachable include honesty and humility, the willingness to persevere and work hard, and a constant openness to learning. The same goes for a team. You cannot coach someone who does not want to be coached.

A trick to learn from Bill:
“Don’t stick it in their ear”. Don’t tell people what to do; offer stories and help guide them to the best decisions for them. And don’t be too proud to be coached.

Bring in a business coach to help facilitate and drive forward momentum – in the leadership meeting as well as in between.

Sad that Bill Campbell passed away in 2016, as he had so many great insights on leadership. Thankfully, some of these have been shared in the book, which I highly recommend to anyone with a leadership role.

Final words on leadership using one of my favorite Bill Campbell quotes:

“Leadership is about recognizing that there's a greatness in everyone and your job is to create an environment where that greatness can emerge”