Note: I’m not much of a football fan. I read a story today that what contributes to Patrick Mahomes being an ultra-effective quarterback is his ability to pass. That got me interested.
American Football evolved from being a tackle game to a game about the pass. Some claim that the disincentive of penalties for hitting defenseless players created a pressure to evolve the game to being one about passes. I don’t know if that’s true. I do know that quarterbacks receive a ton of money and there’s quite a bit of selection pressure to find people who are skilled at executive passes, assessment and decision making, and an ability to run. Let’s focus on the pass.
Passing in sports is no different than passing in music is no different than transmission in communication is no different than energy transfer in physics. It is about the efficient movement of a thing between things. And there are many ways to maximize the movement of a thing for optimal transmission.
I think about delegating work. For an effective delegation of work, a leader must have situational awareness of the work (and constraints) of the person they intend to delegate to. The delegatee must signal their openness or their constraints so that the delegator knows how/if to execute or move on. If it’s clear that delegation is possible, then the delegator must effectively communicate the task, responsibility for completion, and assert their own accountability for the outcome.
My friend, Sean, often says “everything is communication.” And, I continue to believe in that claim. While I may not fully appreciate football, I certainly have a deeper appreciation for quarterbacks and other great communicators.