AJ's Transition: Retired from Football, Not from Work

Episode 200: AJ Hawk & Keith Hawk - Showing Up, Doing The Work, Earning Trust, Helping Others, Winning The Super Bowl, Celebrating #200

Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher Radio

The Learning Leader Show

"I've always been obsessed with being accountable to the people around me. I have to be there for them."

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

• Common themes of great coaches/leaders:
  • A vividly clear picture of what success looks like
  • Mission/Vision -- Habits built
  • Give coaching feedback
  • Look to help them "My success can only follow the success of others"
  • Show up -- Be there
  • (AJ) They are authentic
  • Clearly communicate -- Jim Tressel was great at this, never had to yell
• Bad bosses/coaches:
  • When they don't know what to do, they just yell
  • They lose the principle that their job is to help people
  • They only focus on numbers and not their people
• Being retired
  • "It doesn't mean what it used to"
  • "I now have the freedom to work on only what I want to..."
  • "I like not being on someone else's schedule"
• Key to quickly earning respect from peers?
  • "Be seen, not heard."
  • "Be accountable to your peers/teammates. Always show up, be consistent."
• Must find a way to do the important "people" things and not just get caught up in the day to day tasks
• What do you miss?
  • All of the people used to see daily
• Micro-Coaching
  • The act of coaching others on the small details that lead to sustained excellence. The importance of doing this on a regular basis. Make it a habit
• Thoughts as a parent
  • "My job to take you to the door, but it's up to you to go through it and thrive."
  • "You need to compete as much as possible... That creates adversity, which is healthy for a kid."
  • (AJ) "I almost feel like we have to create adversity... We don't want our kids to be spoiled."
• (To AJ) How will you handle it when your daughter Googles you and sees that you signed a 36 million dollar contract?
• Creating appreciation for your kids -- Making them earn what they get
  • Recommend your kids spend time around those are who less fortunate so they know how lucky they are
• What do you hope others say about you?
  • (Keith) - "That I helped them." "My success can only follow the success of others." "That I was full of integrity, honest, trustworthy."
  • (AJ) - "Accountable to others, that I was a guy who made other people feel good. That they never had to question me and whether I would be where I was supposed to be. That I showed up."
• When people say "Man, it must be sad that AJ is done with football!" -- Not the case at all. So grateful that it happened.
  • "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

"Always be there. Show up. Don't delegate important tasks, be there. Don't say no if you can say yes. You have to earn trust."

Continue Learning:

• Follow AJ on Twitter: @OfficialAJHawk
• Read: Get Real Selling by Keith Hawk
• Connect with me on LinkedIn
• Join our Facebook Group: The Learning Leader Community
• To Follow Me on Twitter: @RyanHawk12

You may also like these episodes:

Episode 078: Kat Cole – From Hooters Waitress To President of Cinnabon

Episode 071: Nate Boyer - Green Beret, Texas Football, The NFL

Episode 179: How To Sustain Excellence - The Best Answers From 178 Questions

Episode 107: Simon Sinek – Leadership: It Starts With Why

Did you enjoy the podcast?

If you enjoyed hearing AJ Hawk and Keith Hawk on the show, please don't hesitate to send me a note on Twitter or email me.

Episode edited by the great J Scott Donnell

The Learning Leader Show is supported by Rhone. Use the code "Hawk" for 15% off. Rhone... premium activewear engineered with principle, performance and progress for the modern man. Rhone builds clothing around 3 main tenants: Cutting-edge Performance, Premium Comfort, and Simplistic Style.