Leadership Lessons from Valley Ranch

Those who watch the Dallas Cowboys are no doubt frustrated again by their failure to make the NFL Playoffs. Evidently no one is more frustrated than their owner Jerry Jones who has promised to make things very uncomfortable at Valley Ranch over the next few weeks and months.


I don’t want to bash Jerry Jones, but his behavior as owner provides several examples of violations of some key leadership principles.

First, he violates the “Window and the Mirror” principle we learned from Jim Collins in his best-selling book Good to Great. According to Collins, all organizations that made the transition from good to great were led by what he called a Level 5 Leader. These leaders are characterized by a paradoxical blend of professional will and personal humility. No one doubts Jerry Jones professional will. He is passionate about the Cowboys and has invested huge sums of money to make them successful. Yet there is an amazing lack of personal humility which keeps him from being a Level 5 Leader. This lack of humility keeps Jerry from practicing the window in the mirror. According to this principle when things go well the leader looks out the window to see who he can give credit to. When things don't go well, Level 5 Leaders look in the mirror and ask themselves what they did to contribute to the problem or what they personally need to change to correct the situation. Jerry has consistently wanted to take the credit for the success and refused to look in the mirror to see how he himself contributes to the continuing mediocrity and failure of the organization.

The second principle violated by Jerry Jones is his failure to differentiate between responsibility and competence. Certainly as the owner he has responsibility for the entire organization. That does not mean however that he has competence in every area of the organization. He insists on retaining the position of general manager and not hiring a person with demonstrated competence in this area. The most effective leaders understand that they add the most value to their organization by leading from their strengths. One of my favorite leadership authors, Andy Stanley, states it this way: only do what only you can do. Jerry Jones is a businessman who by all accounts is a great marketing and value creator. He is not a qualified general manager. He needs to focus his efforts in the areas where he is strong, and delegate to others in those areas that are not his strength.

Of course doing this requires a deep personal humility that understands one's strengths and one's weaknesses. It also requires a secure ego that is not threatened by others who have a skill set that varies from yet complements your own.

It's easy to see these flaws in public leaders such as Jerry Jones. Can you see them in yourself?
Are you willing to admit your lack of competence and allow others to move in alongside you and complement you with skill sets they have that you lack?

Are you willing to look in the mirror?