I’ve been an Auburn guy my entire life. My mom, dad, and I all attended the university, and I am a huge fan of their football and basketball teams to this day.
That being said, I also have a well-formed hatred for the University of Alabama. But their recently retired coach, Nick Saban, is someone I have an immense level of respect for. Whether you’re a football fan or not, there are 5 principles Saban did really well within the organization.
The five principles I identified from Saban’s leadership were process-minded thinking, culture, A-players, standards, and consistency.
Process-Minded Thinking
When Saban was coming into Alabama initially, he talked about process in every press conference. I would mock him and think it was so funny, until they won their first national championship in 2009 and then just went on to win many more thereafter. While he continued to talk about the process, they actually lived it out in everything that they did.
Culture
Coach Saban brought an obvious culture of competition to the team and the coaching staff. While not everyone may thrive in this type of culture, it is inevitable that when you compete again 4 and 5 star teams there will be a high level of competition.