#225: Harris Barton, 3-time Super Bowl Champion & Founder and managing director of H. Barton Asset Management – To learn from others, you’ve got to listen
Feb 6, 2025
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In this conversation, Harris Barton—a three-time Super Bowl champion and founder of H. Barton Asset Management—shares invaluable leadership insights drawn from both his football career and business endeavors. He discusses the importance of listening and learning from others, as well as strategies for bouncing back from failure. Harris highlights the emotional impact of winning championships, the significance of mentorship, and how resilience plays a crucial role in navigating post-career challenges. Personal anecdotes enrich his narrative, bridging sports and business success.
Harris Barton emphasizes the importance of active learning, showcasing how listening to others can uncover valuable insights and solutions.
Barton draws parallels between sports and business, highlighting that a strong work ethic and preparation are key to achieving success in any field.
Reflecting on Joe Montana's leadership during Super Bowl XXIII, Barton illustrates the significance of maintaining composure and unity in high-pressure situations.
Deep dives
Active Learning and Listening
The concept of active learning is emphasized, illustrating how one can consistently extract lessons from experiences and interactions. Harris Barton serves as a prime example of this mindset, as he discusses how every situation presents an opportunity to learn. He notes that the answers to many questions may already exist within the surrounding knowledge of others, emphasizing the importance of listening to those who have more experience or insight. This principle extends from his time in football to his current role in asset management, reinforcing the idea that humility and receptivity to learning are crucial for success.
Preparation and Leadership in Football
Barton elaborates on the intensive preparation required for teams aiming for success, drawing parallels between sports and business leadership. He reflects on how seasoned athletes like Jerry Rice and Joe Montana set the standard for work ethic by being the first to arrive and last to leave practices. This culture of diligence not only motivates teammates but also translates into business environments where leaders influence their team's work ethic. Achieving success in any field necessitates hard work and commitment, both of which are underlined by the leadership seen on the football field.
Super Bowl XXIII: A Moment of Leadership
During Super Bowl XXIII, Barton recounts an intense moment when 49ers quarterback Joe Montana demonstrated exemplary leadership under pressure. With only minutes left in the game, Montana diffused tension in the huddle by drawing attention to a celebrity in the audience, refocusing the team's mindset. Barton's reflection on this moment highlights the significance of maintaining composure and unity during critical times. Montana's ability to connect and calm his teammates exemplifies the traits of effective leadership that inspire success, especially in high-stakes situations.
Transitioning from Sports to Business
Barton discusses his transition from a successful NFL career to founding his asset management firm, emphasizing the importance of mentorship and heeding advice from experienced professionals. After facing challenges in his first business venture, he shifted his approach, seeking guidance from industry leaders to rebuild. His strategy involved leaning on existing relationships, mirroring his experiences as an athlete where teamwork and support were essential. This adaptability reflects how skills gained in sports can be applied to navigating the business world effectively.
The Value of Humility and Listening
Barton shares a valuable lesson from his father about the importance of listening to wise counsel rather than merely sharing one's own experiences. This principle has guided him throughout his career, highlighting that great leaders prioritize understanding others and learning from them. He underscores that in both sports and business, the capacity to listen can lead to significant improvements and successful outcomes. Through this lens, humility is respected not as a weakness, but as an essential quality in fostering growth and collaboration.
Just in time for the Super Bowl, this week’s guest is Harris Barton, the founder and managing director of H. Barton Asset Management. He was also an all-pro left tackle for the 49ers, winning THREE Super Bowls with Joe Montana and Steve Young.
Today, he runs a thriving investment fund, where he has about a billion dollars of assets under management.
If you’re feeling stuck on a problem, listen to this episode. Why? Because Harris understands the power of listening and learning from others. The answers you need are probably already around you somewhere—it’s just a question of whether or not you’re listening for them!
You’ll also learn:
How to bounce back after a big failure
Leadership lessons from inside the huddle at Super Bowl XXIII
The one thing everyone notices about their leader
The mindset you need to stack one success on top of another
Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources:
The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go
Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day
Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.
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