podcast notes Tom Brady New England Patriots Quarterback
Tom Brady begins his 19th season as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots in 2018. Tom has won ve Super Bowls, four MVP awards and has been selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times. He has the highest combined regular and postseason winning percentage of any quarterback in NFL history. A leader both on the eld and o the eld, Tom launched TB12 Sports to help people achieve peak performance at any age.
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1 Key Points
Growing up, Tom was the youngest of four kids. As the only boy, he was very into sports, and his family would spend up to four nights a week at a baseball, soccer, or football eld. In his neighborhood, there were lots of kids always playing sports on the street, so he rarely played indoors. Tom’s upbringing taught him a lot about community and playing on a team.
Tom learned about being on a team by playing with his neighbors. Can you think of normal, everyday activities which have helped shape your leadership skills?
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2 Key Points
Tom’s ability to succeed was written in his DNA. He possesses inherent traits that have helped him progress in his career, like a strong work ethic and discipline. These traits can’t be measured. As a leader, he has tried to develop these traits to compete with those who more talented. Tom says he wasn’t born gifted like some athletes, such as Tiger Woods or Lebron James, but he has mental gifts which have served him in his role as quarterback.
What inherent traits have helped you in your role as a leader?
Have you had to compensate for lack of skills in a certain area? Give an example.
What strengths can you focus on to help you develop as a leader?
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3 Key Points
When Tom was younger, he had trouble controlling his anger. For instance, if he lost at a video game, he would slam his controller and break it. One time, he went to play golf with dad and after four holes, he noticed he wasn’t playing well and he threw his club. Tom’s actions disappointed his dad. After talking through the incident with his dad, Tom came to his senses and they went back to the range and played nine more holes without any anger outbursts.
That lesson taught Tom that if things don’t go right, it’s not about blaming others. He’s learned to hold himself accountable, and when things don’t go his way, he tries to gure out how he can do better next time.
Have you ever experienced failure? How did you respond?
How did you grow from that experience?
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4 Key Points
When Tom began playing football in college, he was good, but not the best and he didn’t get very many reps in practice. He worried this would be an issue for his career and it became an area of stress. Then he received some advice that changed the way he played. He was told to stop focusing on the number of reps and start focusing on making every rep the best you can. In fact, make every rep the best anyone can do. Once he did that, he began getting more reps.
Tom says you have to do the best with the opportunities you get. As a leader, you should bring an intensity and a positivity to work with you. That is what passes on to others and challenges them.
Have a moment of re ection: do you give your best in all things?
Would you bene t by changing your mindset about your current opportunities?
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5 Key Points
Tom is grateful that he came under a coach who valued performance rather than background. Even though Tom didn’t have tons of reps under his belt, his coach saw something in him. The coach mentored Tom in defense and developed his skills.
When it comes to leadership, how important is it that a person has an experienced background?
Everyone needs a mentor. This week, why not o er to mentor someone who shows promise? Who do you want to reach out to?
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6 Key Points
In professional football, if you’re the best, you’re gonna play. The competition pushes Tom to be the best version of himself. He has developed a healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo.
Tom says he’ll never reach the end because there is always room to get better. He knows it’s important to earn it every day.
Do you feel like you make an e ort every day to be the best version of yourself?
How can it a ect an organization if team members have a healthy dissatisfaction with the status quo?
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7 Key Points
Tom admires two things about his coach:
1. He is consistent 2. He is dependable
Tom describes teamwork as going into battle. You must know you can trust your teammates; you have to be able to count on them. Everyone needs to do their job.
What traits do you value in a leader?
In your team, what are you expected to do and how can you do it better?
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8 Key Points
In Tom’s experience, managing con ict involves having a healthy respect. There will be situations when not everyone agrees, but it’s important to respect the others’ opinions and decisions.
It’s a good idea to be careful with your words because once they are out, you can never take them back. Don’t say anything that you will resent later.
What happens when team members aren’t open to di erences in opinions?
Tom gives great advice on being respectful. How might you apply this to di erent areas of your life?
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9 Key Points
Tom’s coach, Bill Belichick, prefers to tell his team the truth rather than sugarcoat his feedback like family or friends might do. He says to them, “I’ll always give you the truth. I can lie to make you feel better but it’s not going to help you, so why don’t I just tell you the truth?”
Why do leaders need truth-tellers in their lives?
Honest feedback is important if you want to grow in your leadership. This week, why not invite your boss and colleagues to give you honest feedback when it comes to your work?
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10 Key Points
According to Tom, leaders set the tone. The owner of the New England Patriots sets the tone for the coach, and the coach sets the tone for the players. This is how culture is created.
Tom’s team has a process when they begin a new season. It involves a lot of practice, then evaluating each person’s performance. That’s how they get better as a whole. It’s intense, which is why it’s important that each player enjoys hard work.
As a leader, what kind of tone do you want to set?
How often should a leader evaluate his performance?
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11 Key Points
As the quarterback, Tom’s job involves learning what motivates his team members. “You need di erent tools to gain their trust,” he says.
He wants his teammates to excel, so it’s important that he connects with them. Trust and camaraderie helps everyone do their jobs well.
Think of those you lead. Can you identify what motivates them?
How do you cultivate trust with your team members?
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12 Key Points
Because Tom doesn’t take losing well, he’s had to work on his body language. No one wants to see negativity when things don’t go as planned. Be aware. You don’t necessarily have to pretend to be positive, but you can be neutral. It’s hard to show the way when everyone tells you how bad things are, but when you don’t give in to negativity, it makes a tremendous di erence in team morale.
How do you react when bad news comes?
Negativity can spread like wild re. Have you ever seen this in the workplace? How did it a ect your team?
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13 Key Points
Tom gives the following advice to those in leadership:
• Get the process right and it will put you in a position to be successful. • Sometimes you have to fake it until you make it. • If you bring energy and enthusiasm, it will motivate and inspire. • Poor actions, body language, or words can have a bad e ect.
Which piece of Tom’s advice feels most relevant to you?
Do you agree with all of Tom’s advice?
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14 Key Points
Tom understands the importance of balancing family life with his work. He makes sure to spend extra time with his family during o -season, and even chose to pass on the o -season team training. If your home-life falls apart, your work-life will su er.
How would you rate yourself when it comes to work-life balance?
What do you think of Tom’s decision to forgo the o -season team training? What response would you expect from his team?
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15 Podcast Refl ection Questions
Review what you learned from Tom Brady and answer these questions.
1. What is your biggest learning from Tom Brady?
2. What is one action you can take to become a better leader based on his wisdom?
3. Complete the action plan on the next page.
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16 Action Plan
What am I going to do? By When?
Date Completed
What am I going to do? By When?
Date Completed
What am I going to do? By When?
Date Completed
How will this action make a positive impact on your leadership? On others?
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