Peer Into Character^® ep. 3 – Marcus Jannitto

Leadership and Team Captains in Sports

National leadership speaker Marcus Jannitto describes overlooked characteristics of a great leader, the number-one job of a team captain, and why leadership should be “intentional.” Anyone associated with youth sports will find value in this insightful conversation as Even Field’s Chuck Wilson talks with the long-time military leader, high school coach, game official, and Even Field advisor.

Peer Into Character^® features thought-provoking and inspirational stories and observations about character and leadership shared by professional and amateur athletes, coaches, educators, and others.

You can also watch this episode on Even Field’s YouTube Channel. You can listen on Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music, and iHeartRadio.

Episode Quotes

“Sharpening the edge of what you’re good at, not spending your time getting better at things you’ll never be great at. Your time is much better spent sharpening those edges that you have rather than dulling down and trying to be all things to all people.”  (6:35)

“As far as leadership goes, the higher you get up the more you’ll find that leaders surround themselves with people who are great at things that they’re not. That’s what makes them a great leader.” (8:12)

“You want to be able to point to a core value or one of your philosophies in every conversation that you have with a player.”  (27:30)

Episode Timeline

• What is “intentional leadership” and why is it important? (4:24)
• Six characteristics of great leaders that are seldom mentioned (5:00)
• Focus on your strengths rather than on improving your weaknesses (6:35)
• Why being deliberate is essential to effective leadership (8:43)
• Leaders have to accept the difficult aspects of their job (9:12)
• A leader has to be willing to make a mistake (10:45)
• Train players on process for making and communicating decisions (11:26)
• The relationship between good character and effective leadership (12:15)
• A leader’s ability to communicate their philosophy (12:46)
• The team’s philosophy should be embedded in the team’s rules (14:43)
• A story about applying team rules consistently, but differently (16:16)
• The most important job of a team captain (18:12)
• What is the role of empathy and compassion in leadership? (21:04)
• Establishing a deliberate team culture (24:05)
• To avoid negative team behavior, be clear about expectations (26:26)
• Paying “dues” and earning playing time (26:56)
• Motivating players to develop a particular skill that helps the team (27:56)
• What does competitive integrity mean to you? (31:17)
• A story about placing competitive integrity ahead of winning (32:26)
• Why Marcus Jannitto is a believer in Even Field (34:28)

About Marcus Jannitto

Marcus Jannitto is a Brigadier General, USAF (retired), with 38 years in the Air National Guard, veteran of Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and peacekeeping efforts in Bosnia, with more than 5,000 flying hours and fifty combat missions. He served as Director of the Commanders Development Course at the Pentagon, coached high school volleyball and soccer, and served as a college coach, administrator, and high school game official in multiple sports.

Marcus is an advisor for Even Field^® and has been a speaker at our presentations to student-athletes and adults. He is a friend and mentor.

Episode Transcript

Our focus is on Leadership. As the conversation began, Chuck Wilson asked General Jannitto how we should think about leadership.

Interviewee: Marcus Jannitto
Interviewer: Chuck Wilson

Marcus Jannitto: When I think of leadership, I think it’s more about the how than the what. A good friend of mine, Lieutenant General Mike Dubie, told me a story. He was at Balad Air Base about 60 miles north of Baghdad. His boss came to him and said, “I need you to go to Baghdad. I just need you to do one thing — be a Colonel. That’s all.”

And so, he said, “I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I knew exactly how I was going to do it.”

When we talk about leadership — the essence of a great leader, I think, is the “how.”

Chuck Wilson: Let’s talk about intentional leadership. What is it and why is it so important?

Marcus Jannitto: Everything you do as a leader is intentional. You’re surrounded by crowds of witnesses to everything you’re doing, all the more reason to be deliberate.

I often sit with groups of people — high school kids, athletes, team captains, senior C-Suite leaders — and we brainstorm characteristics of great leaders. All sorts of things come up. But there were six characteristics that never came up.

One was deliberate. One was risky — great leaders take risk. The higher you get in leadership, people take less risk because more is at stake. But continuing to have that risk aspect is vital.

Pursuit. Great leaders pursue being great leaders, but nobody mentions that idea of pursuit.

Discernment. Great leaders can take a razor edge and discern what things about somebody they need to address that day, what to cultivate, what the talents are in any particular person.

Edgy. Sharpening the edge of what you’re good at, not spending your time getting better at things you’ll never be great at. Your time is much better spent sharpening those natural edges.

“With any good leader, you see them doing the hard things. The best leaders do the hard things first and never shy away from them.”

Chuck Wilson: What is the relationship between good character and effective leadership?

Marcus Jannitto: I think it’s everything. Character is it. How do you treat people? My wife would say to me, “It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it.”

I always tell leaders, “Do people know your philosophy on being late? Do people know your philosophy on work ethic? Do people know what you believe?”

For new coaches: when parents release their sons or daughters to your oversight for two or three hours a day, they need to know what you believe. Write down your “I believe” statements. Be clear about your priorities.

Chuck Wilson: Tell us about team captains. What do you look for?

“When I talk to team captains… their one job, their biggest job I would always tell them — ‘Reduce team drama.’”

Marcus Jannitto: Their biggest job is to reduce team drama. If you can intercede before I know about it, all the better. The less you fight the internal turbulence in a team, the more you can apply all of your weight and talents to the fight against other teams.

Peer leadership is hard. Team captains have to be ready to have those hard conversations with peers. “You know the team rule. If you get caught going to that party, you’re going to be off the team. Make a good decision.”

Chuck Wilson: What does competitive integrity mean to you?

Marcus Jannitto: I like to talk about integrity as the structural integrity of an airplane. When one structural member fails, the airplane doesn’t fly. When one member of a team starts to fall behind, it’s important for the rest of the team to bring him up to the level of everybody so they maintain structural integrity.

I remember coaching a college indoor soccer tournament. The opponents scored a goal and the referee didn’t see it. I had to tell the referee. Some players got angry with me. But that’s what we’re talking about when we see competitive integrity.

That’s Marcus Jannitto — Brigadier General, USAF (retired), war veteran and national leadership speaker, long-time coach, administrator, and game official in high school and college sports, with valuable insight and perspective on leadership.

Our thanks to Marcus Jannitto – a friend and mentor.