Gee: Wait, what?! Mike Macdonald just showed us what leadership really looks like

I already respected Mike Macdonald. Today, I respect him even more. Think about the timing of what this man just chose to share.

Mike Macdonald is the reigning Super Bowl champion head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. He could spend the next year talking about winning, the defense, and the culture he has helped build. Instead, he decided to tell us about the time when he wasn’t OK.

Seahawks coach described barely getting out of bed, questioning his leadership

In an interview with Graham Bensinger, Macdonald opened up about how difficult his first season in Seattle became personally.

There were weekends when he barely got out of bed. His routine fell apart. He acknowledged drinking too much. During that time, he questioned his leadership. He described the experience as “paralyzing,” and when the subject of depression came up, Macdonald was careful not to diagnose himself with something a professional had not diagnosed.

Wait, what?! He didn’t have to tell us any of this. That’s why I believe telling it now is incredibly selfless.

Mike Macdonald doesn’t need our sympathy. He doesn’t need this story to explain away a losing season. His first Seahawks team went 10-7, and one year later he reached the top of his profession. He’s telling it from the mountaintop to help others. Somewhere there’s a person sitting at home who desperately needs to hear this.

We have this terrible habit of looking at people’s positions and assuming we know their condition.

CEO? Must have it together.

Successful marriage? Must have it together.

Great job? Must have it together.

Head coach of the Seattle Seahawks? Must have it together.

Vulnerability can be strength; Macdonald just proved it

Sometimes the dream job comes with pressure you never imagined. Sometimes everybody around you thinks you’re winning while privately you’re trying to figure out how to get yourself out of bed.

Macdonald’s story also matters because of what happened next. He talked about rebuilding his routine, working out, walking, eating better, and stacking small victories until he began feeling like himself again.

We spend so much time teaching leaders to project strength that sometimes we forget vulnerability can BE strength. Imagine one of his players struggling someday.

Mike Macdonald doesn’t have to stand in front of that player and give him some motivational speech he read in a leadership book. He can look him in the eye and say: “I’ve been there.”

Winning a Super Bowl showed us Mike Macdonald can lead a football team. Telling this story showed us something about the man leading it. I respect the hell out of him for it.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.

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