Leading by example: How has Joe Burrow led the Bengals from bottom to Super Bowl

As we get ready to enjoy the most recent instalment of NFL’s pinnacle, The Super Bowl, there is plenty of stories surrounding the build up. As a coach, it’s interesting to see the youngest coaching match up in SB history with Sean McVay (36) going up against Zac Taylor (38). The two teams have done this the hard way, being the first Super Bowl since NFL started without #1 or #2 seed. However, there’s only one person whom is on the lips of everyone in and outside the sport.

Joe Burrow; The Cincinnati Bengals' second-year quarterback and former LSU standout who could become the first-ever quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy, a national title and a Super Bowl ring has become an internet sensation as well as potential NFL legend over the past few weeks. Lots has been made around his cigar smoking, sunglasses wearing demeanour, affectionately being known as Joey Cool but he hasn’t forgot his primary role; to lead his Bengals side to the biggest prize of the Vince Lombardi trophy. And how does a second year quarterback rally his troops, especially after having a reduced first season with ACL injury? What type of leadership does Burrow offer and how has this been developed? Leadership is seen as the process whereby an individual influences a group to achieve a common goal (Loughead, 2005); leaders within team environments such as Burrow are expected to drive and coordinate 3 main areas or functions being task related, social functionality and external obligations (Longhead, 2006). But how is fresh faced Joe seemingly an expert at such a young age?

To start off, he shows a lot of love and respect for his fellow players. On Jan. 2nd earlier this year, “Jackpot Joey” showed up to the stadium ahead of his team's showdown with the Chiefs donning a T-shirt with the faces of his top three pass catchers on the front: Chase, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins. That same day, after the Bengals secured the win and the AFC North title, Burrow sang Chase's praises in his postgame news conference saying, "If you're going to play him one-on-one, a lot of times it's going to be a long day for you. He's a great player, and he's going to be a great player for a long time."

He looks out for the people who look out for him; when the holiday season arrived, the young QB knew how he intended to spread some cheer among those who held him down all season, by gifting all 13 offensive linemen on the team's roster (practice squad players included) diamond-crusted Casio G-Shock watches. Obviously a very tongue in cheek move with all the hype around his jewellery but again, shows genuine love and care for his players that offer him support and space to do what he needs to do.

He lives by the standards he expects; his toughness was there for all to see when he was sacked nine times in the Bengals' 19-16 divisional round win over the Titans in Jan 2022, which tied an NFL playoff record. He kept working an finding a way; he dusted himself down and ground out an away win vs the divisional champions. Even the most successful QB of all time, Tom Brady recognised his toughness and grittiness. Brady commented on Burrow’s game on his podcast after the Bengal’s win vs the Chiefs:

The way that we can show our toughness is to stand in the pocket and make throws…and sometimes you get the s--- knocked out of you and you gotta get up and just go on to the next play.

Even before NFL stardom, there has been reported examples of Burrow’s ability to set an example of others around him. In December 2019, during his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech, Burrow mentioned the issue of hunger in Athens County, Ohio where he spent the majority of his childhood. He didn't realize the massive impact his words would have in driving generous donations to anti-hunger efforts in Athens County. A fundraiser sparked by Burrow's comments elicited roughly $650,000 in donations. His high school teacher reflectively described him as a quiet, compassionate leader at school. Christy Ritterbeck said:

His leadership was contagious, and it made others want to work hard alongside of him. When he was away from school and off the football field, he was just like any kid with big dreams and fun hobbies.

So how has Burrow’s leadership had such a huge, positive impact in such a short space of time? Within team environments, we can find different forms of leadership forming through formally appointed leadership roles, informal leadership and/or peer leadership roles, whereby a person may only effect 2 or more people within the group yet their actions or input leads to influence of others. Looking at Leadership Scale for Sports (Chelladurai, 1980), within these 3 functioning areas of task, social or external, it looks at which areas players look for leadership within. These areas include training and instruction, democratic behaviour, autocratic behaviour, social support and positive feedback. Formally appointed team leaders usually needs to display athletic ability and be “veterans” of the side involved in, usually 3 years or greater, to gain the acknowledgement of 50% or more of the group required to have influence on the goals attempting to achieve (Longhead, 2006). Team captains or formally appointed leaders should be seen as important in all forms of leadership except social leadership (Fransen, 2015). Again, there’s something special here; with Burrow being only in his second year of NFL career, it’s interesting to watch what he’s doing, how he’s leading to get his Bengals motivated to follow him and how he’s handling the media attention to allow his team to keep focusing on football. Many have written about it this week yet we see it a lot…you can’t be an effective leader and be fake. People see through it. His confidence and care is genuine and reflected in comments made by current teammates. Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah said in preparation for Super Bowl 56:

He’s got ice in his veins…The utmost confidence. We have him in the huddle, we have his mind and his ability to analyse defences and just be a leader. Just a presence.

So, with Burrow becoming the biggest name in town, he has admitted it “hasn’t felt real to me” in regards to his media attention yet has focused on the NFL more than anything else (“the football stuff…not so much”). This week, he’s discussed how he displays both task and social leadership in his tips for younger players seeking a career in NFL:

Focus on getting better…Don't have a workout and post it on Instagram the next day and then go sit on your butt the next day and everyone thinks you're working hard but you're not. Work in silence. Don't show anyone what you're doing. Let your performance on Friday nights and Saturday nights and Sunday nights show all the hard work you put in. Don't worry about all that social media stuff

Studies have shown Informal leaders or peer leaders can complete functions that formally appointed leaders cannot. Peer leaders such as Burrow are seen as influential on task related goals of the group as a whole and focus on team harmony and collective cohesion, highlighted by Uzomah’s comments. Recognising the areas of LSS, these leaders offer greater impact around areas such as social support, positive feedback and can offer democratic decision making dependent on when situation requires them and to as small or large a group within the team as opposed to the when’s and whom by which expectations or protocol sets. As seen by Burrow, him acknowledging and highlighting the importance of his offensive teammates shows he has high regard for his players being part of and supporting his high standards.

Athlete or peer leaders engaged in social behaviours positively influence team cohesion and performance as a result (Vincer, 2010) as social cohesion has shown stronger link with performance than task cohesion (Jowett, 2004). These informal leaders are recognised by certain recognised traits, most notably skill level amongst the playing group, the strongest index of peer leadership (Glenn & Horn 1993). Moran and Weiss (2006) also recognised peer leaders have higher perceived levels of competence and increased ability for expressiveness; Burrows shows these attributes in spades. A positive relationship has been demonstrated between the presence of athlete leaders and team outcomes such as player satisfaction, team cohesion, confidence and performance (Fransen, 2015), all outcomes which have helped the Bengals get to the 2022 Super Bowl….I doubt anyone will question Burrow’s and his offensive teammates confidence, even at a young age.

Where does head coach Zac Taylor fit into the leadership structure? How does his relationship with young QB Burrows shape the fortunes of the team and the following of his cohort? Studies have shown transformational leadership styles look at the importance on the leader-follower relationship; Bass (1985) recognises this style of leadership as the ability to inspire and motivate followers to exceed performance expectations by shaping follower’s beliefs and attitudes. This form of leadership could be developed by Taylor by offering inspiration or motivation to team members, through creating a vision of common goals, idealising influence through modelling behaviours or values, individualising consideration, through allowing for other’s needs and feelings and intellectual stimulation through encouraging creativity. Taylor seemingly acknowledges and supports Burrow’s charisma and confidence, encouraging other teammates to follow Joey’s lead. He said:

He’s built for this stage…He’s played for state championships, he’s played for national championships. Now, he’s playing for the Super Bowl. I think that’s been his expectation all along. He’s not surprised by it. He rises to these occasions, and we’re certainly happy to have him.

Research by Prof Jowett shows that coach transformational leadership served as an antecedent to both team psychological safety and coach–athlete relationship quality. The optimal leadership state is recognised as more frequent transformational and transactional leadership adopted styles, combined with laisses faire attitudes (Price, 2013). However, if levels of autonomy are not offered, player’s feelings are ignored or common team goals discounted, this could move into controlling or autocratic style. Taylor has put an interesting spin on this area this week; on the build up to the Super Bowl, he’s asked players to not get distracted by the LA shiny lights and media noise and in return, he’ll purchase the team tickets to go back and celebrate in LA once the game is won!!

Current studies have addressed peer transformational behaviours and leadership style is related to group cohesion and collective efficiency; this is created by idealised influence by leading by example, showing optimism regarding team collective goals and setting high standards while acknowledging the needs of others and gaining cooperation through sacrifice (Bass & Avolio 1994). Research by Fransen and others found details around the importance of athlete leaders or shared leadership structure athletes’ identification with their team, suggesting that leaders enhance athletes’ health and reduce athlete burnout by creating and maintaining a sense of shared identity in their team. This, in turn, suggests that coaches can foster an optimal team environment by developing the leadership potential of their athlete leaders – in particular, their skills that foster a sense of shared team identification. This is in the interests not only of team performance but also of team members’ health and burnout. Taylor again has shown how he’s happy to take a back seat in the development of close bonds and player leaders within the group. Taylor was asked this week about Burrow and Chase and said that what he has seen is the entire offense building a bond that he as a coach couldn’t build if he tried. He quote:

Great teams have that, not just on the field. It’s guys really enjoying spending time with each other. Not just those two, but really the whole core on offense, they like being together, going to dinner together, spending time in the hotel on the road together. That’s something as a coach you can’t push, you can’t manage, it’s just got to happen naturally, and fortunately we’ve got it

Good teams recognised to have good leaders have strong social connectedness, which goes hand in hand with task leadership, as displays higher level of collective efficacy (Fransen, 2015). Research by Price and Weiss found while coach leadership was more influential than peer leadership for predicting individual outcomes and collective efficacy, peer leadership was more strongly related to social cohesion than coach leadership, and both peer and coach leadership were equally important for task cohesion. The quality of social support received is critical to group success and player satisfaction; while it’s important to receive social support from coach-athlete relationship, the increased pressure to ensure the player does not let down their parts within the relationship can lower autonomy and intrinsic motivation through perceived controlling behaviours. The extent to which athletes felt connected with their leader proved to be most predictive for athletes’ perceptions of that leader’s quality on each leadership role. This extends to groups also, seeing teams with higher athlete leadership quality were more strongly connected within Fransen’s research. Therefore, the leadership dynamics and Zac Taylor’s willingness to allow player leaders to be identified, creating connected individuals and responsibility being distributed amongst the Bengal’s offensive and defensive groups through social networking is important within team dynamics.

Coaching and collective success stems around the competence, confidence, connection and character developed of the athlete as a result of the coach-player (or possibly leader-player for this example) relations yet coach adopted transformational leadership styles would result in positive intrinsic motivations and increased athlete effort, critical when it comes to the biggest stage NFL has. Coaches or player leaders such as Burrow for NFL franchises have a significant role to play in creating an environment that athletes feel valued, connected, confident and comfortable. In such environments, coaching becomes a process where coaches and athletes are fully integrated and sport becomes a worthwhile (inter)personal pursuit. It’s hard to fully understand with all the media attention and Super Bowl spin but it’s looks like Taylor, Burrow and his young Bengals squad has got this blend just right….let’s see if Joey Cool shall be adding a new ring to his growing jewelery collection!!