Leaders as Quarterbacks
Energizing Your Offensive Line
In celebration of the 2024-2025 NFL playoffs, I wanted to bring to light an appropriate analogy that serves us in football, in leadership, and in life. In leadership, much like in football, success is never a solo achievement. It’s about synergy, energy, and alignment. A metaphor that resonates deeply with me is this: leaders are the quarterbacks, and their co-leaders—their trusted team—are the offensive line. Together, they create a powerful dynamic where energy attracts energy, and the entire team rises to meet the challenges ahead.
This article will break down what it means to be the QB of your team and how to lead your O-line in a way that inspires and sustains energy and lasting impact.
The Quarterback and the Offensive Line
Imagine a football game. The quarterback stands at the center of the field, responsible for calling the plays, reading the defense, and making split-second decisions. But even the most talented quarterback cannot succeed without their offensive line. These players provide protection, create opportunities, and give the quarterback the space they need to execute the strategy to win.
In leadership, the same dynamic exists. The leader is the quarterback, the visionary calling the plays and steering the organization toward its goals. Meanwhile, the secondary leaders—your department heads, assistant managers, or team leads—are your offensive line. They protect the vision, execute the strategy, and ensure the team moves forward cohesively and with intention.
Ultimately, success depends on how well you lead, inspire, and energize those around you.
Energy Attracts Energy
Here’s where the power of energy comes in. As a leader, your energy directly influences your team. If you show up scattered, stressed, or uninspired, that energy ripples through your team. (You may have heard me talk about this through the examination of mirror neurons in a previous post.) Your secondary leaders may “mirror” that energy, becoming reactive, disengaged, or unfocused. On the field, this could cost you the game. In life, it could cost you the culture of your company.
The good news is that the opposite is also true. If energy attracts energy, and you lead from a place of alignment, clarity, and high vibration, you become a magnet for those same qualities. A quarterback who steps onto the field with calm confidence inspires their offensive line to operate at peak performance, too. Similarly, when you, as a leader, prioritize raising your vibration and leading with intentionality, your team is naturally inspired to follow suit.
Energy attracts energy—it’s a universal law. By prioritizing your own alignment and showing up fully energized, you set the tone for your entire organization to succeed.
Leading Like a High-Vibration Quarterback
To lead effectively and energize your offensive line, you need to focus on raising your vibration and creating alignment. Here are some practical ways to do just that:
1. Own Your Energy First
Before you can lead others, you must lead yourself. Self-governance is the ultimate power strategy to ensure coherence and right alignment within our teams. Take a moment to reflect on how you’re showing up each day. Are you aligned with your vision? Are you leading from a place of confidence and calm? Practices like mindfulness, journaling, exercise, or even a simple morning routine can help you reset your energy and show up at your best.
2. Communicate the Vision
A quarterback’s job is to communicate plays clearly so the team knows exactly what to do. As a leader, you must ensure your team understands the 'why' behind the vision, too. Clarity creates alignment, and alignment energizes action. Energized action wins games, both on and off the field.
3. Empower Your Offensive Line
Trust your co-leaders to execute their roles and make decisions. That’s what you hired them to do in the first place, right? When your offensive line feels empowered, they work cohesively to protect the vision and keep momentum, no matter how challenging the task. Micromanagement stifles energy; empowerment ignites it.
4. Celebrate Wins Together
Every successful play is a team effort. Acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of your offensive line. Recognition fuels motivation and reinforces the importance of working together toward a shared goal. Celebrate early and often and energize the momentum of the collective team.
The Ripple Effect of High-Vibration Leadership
The entire team feels it when a quarterback leads with confidence and clarity. The offensive line steps up, the receivers execute the plan, and even the fans in the stands catch the energetic buzz.
Leadership works the same way. Your energy doesn’t stop with your co-leaders—it ripples through the entire organization and even your home! When your offensive line is aligned, energized, and high-functioning, the rest of the team follows suit, creating an unstoppable communal force.
This is why prioritizing your own growth, alignment, and energy is so critical. When you lead well, your team rises with you, and the ripple effect creates a culture of success, collaboration, and high performance where the entire team thrives.
Final Thoughts
As a leader, you are the quarterback of your organization. Your energy sets the tone for your team. By raising your vibration, leading with clarity, and empowering your offensive line, you create a powerful ripple effect that energizes everyone around you.
So, ask yourself: Are you showing up as the high-vibe quarterback your team needs? If not, what steps can you take to align with your vision and energize your team?
Remember, leadership is not just about calling the plays—it’s about inspiring your team to execute them with confidence and precision. When you prioritize your energy and lead with intention, you don’t just win the game—you change the entire playing field.
If this post resonated with you, I’d love for you to share it with someone who could use this metaphor to rethink their leadership approach. Is there a quarterback in your life who could use some support? And remember, when we lead from a place of alignment, we don’t just change the game—we change lives. In alignment, we rise.