Pete Carroll: Building a Winning Organization through Purpose, Caring, and Inclusion

Competing at the highest levels of the National Football League (NFL) requires tremendous skill, dedication and persistence. The most successful coaches in the NFL know how to draw out a higher level of performance and consistency from their players. This is typically done with a militaristic, disciplinarian style focused on conforming to a highly prescribed game plan and approach.

Pete Carroll, the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, is the American football world’s anomaly. His leadership style is the opposite of the traditional one, a more humanistic approach, based on developing and nurturing strong connections with his players on an interpersonal level and on celebrating, and not suppressing, their individuality. It is anchored by psychology and mindfulness, with Grit author Angela Duckworth noting that Carroll is tapping into something universal about human performance and potential.

Carroll believes that to elevate your game you need to start with a strong sense of purpose that is anchored in a clear personal philosophy. As a leader he is committed to the idea that caring personally about each player and his unique needs, background and aspirations is fundamental to his success as a coach. His style is seen by some as overly positive, “touchy feely” and lacking the top-down edge expected of successful coaches. But what casual observers miss is the rigor, discipline, intense spirit of competition and a passion for winning that underpin his approach. His leadership has enabled a distinctive culture that has become a magnet for highly talented players, especially those who are known as gifted and value their individualism.

His results provide clear evidence that his model works. Carroll is among the most successful football coaches of the last 50 years, achieving a remarkable level of consistently competing at the highest levels, including winning both a Super Bowl and multiple collegiate national titles. Carroll has influenced numerous championship-winning coaches in football and basketball, including the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and the NCAA’s LSU Tigers. And the increasing embrace of Carroll’s leadership practices by CEO’s including Microsoft’s Satya Nadella demonstrate that his caring and humanistic form of leadership may help deliver exceptional results far beyond the football field.