Karl Mecklenburg

When he was an All-Pro linebacker for the Denver Broncos, Karl Mecklenburg used to watch Pat Bowlen, the team’s late owner, greet and chat with the janitors, the equipment managers, the strength coaches – everyone from “top to bottom” – at the Broncos facility. He saw everyone who worked for the team as “his teammates.”

“He knew who each of them was, what they did, and how they helped the organization,” remembered Karl. “He knew the names of their family members, too. And that brought us all together as a team. When difficult things happened, we felt we could rely on each other. We trusted each other, so when we got into an ‘us against the world’ situation, we were able to be successful.”

Karl, who retired from professional football with more than 1,000 tackles and enshrinement in the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame, is now tackling public speaking, inspiring organizations and their leaders to make long-term positive changes. In this podcast, Karl proves himself to be as versatile a storyteller as he was a football player when he once played seven different defensive positions in a single game.

Karl says the story of Bowlen’s modeling visible leadership for his organization illustrated the primacy of leadership up and down any team, which Mecklenburg likens to a seesaw. “On one side you’ve got leaders,” Mecklenburg said. “On the other side, you’ve got egos. In the middle is the majority, waiting to tilt one or another. By adding or subtracting a leader or an ego, your momentum will slide toward success or failure as the middle follows suit. That’s how it happens in the NFL. And that’s how it happens in business.”

The secret Bowlen understood was that by getting everyone in the organization to feel like contributors who are leaders in their respective areas, everyone was energized to pull in the same direction. Karl was not only a superb athlete, he was also an insightful reader of team dynamics, which listeners will enjoy learning from in this episode.

You Will Learn

• 4:30  Why decisiveness leads to success.

• 7:00  How to make yourself indispensable.
• 12:00  The best teammate Karl ever had.
• 25:30  Why preparation is the key to momentum.
• 27:30  How to nurture leaders, not egos.

Resources:

• Connect with Karl on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

• Bring Karl to your next event.