Most people outside of Massachusetts and North Carolina, where Drake Maye is from, refuse to root for the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. They’ve had too much success over the years to warrant their support.
However, just because you aren’t rooting for a particular team doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn from its leader.
Mike Vrabel, the Patriots’ first-year head coach, took a team that went 4–13 the previous season to 14–3 and a trip to the Super Bowl. Although it’s his first season as head coach in New England, he is far from a newcomer. He played 14 seasons in the NFL, won three Super Bowls as a player, and built a reputation as someone who did whatever it took to win. After retiring, he quickly transitioned into coaching, eventually becoming the head coach of the Tennessee Titans for six seasons before being relieved of his duties.
While the turnaround in New England is impressive, it’s how he’s turned a theory most leaders rely on upside down that’s worth studying.
Great Leaders Focus on One Mindset
Most leaders believe alignment happens once expectations are set.
They communicate the standard, share the vision, talk about values, and assume everyone is operating from the same place simply because of their title. When effort dips or performance slips, they’re surprised. They shouldn’t be.
The reason is simple. Setting expectations does not guarantee a shared mindset. Leadership does.
A title or authority doesn’t create alignment. Leadership does.
That’s what makes Mike Vrabel’s approach worth studying. He has embraced an idea many leaders resist, even if they know it’s true. As he put it:
“I’ve embraced the idea that myself and players can have different personalities, but we can’t have different mindsets.”
Teams can have different personalities, but not different mindsets.
That sentence alone explains why his teams consistently show up the way they do. He allows, and even invites, individuality and different personalities. But he also understands that getting where the team wants to go requires one shared mindset.
A Leader’s First Meeting Matters
Most leaders don’t have the luxury of starting over with talent when they take a new role. They inherit people who were already there, which means they’re walking into an environment where behavioral norms already exist.
That’s why the first all-hands meeting matters so much. It sets the tone for the mindset the team will adopt.
During Vrabel’s first team meeting, he set clear expectations for behavior and made it known he would hold players accountable. The expectations were simple:
- Treat teammates and staff with respect.
- Take hoods down in meetings.
- Be on time.
- Put cell phones away.
These standards might seem trivial or even micromanaging at first glance. Vrabel understood something deeper. Those behaviors signal professionalism, respect for details, respect for time, and focus on the mission. They lay the foundation for one shared mindset.
One Mindset Requires Work
Because authority doesn’t create alignment, leadership must.
Vrabel knew the mindset couldn’t just be declared. It had to be built. He needed 53 players and an entire coaching staff to buy in, trust one another, and hold each other accountable.
That’s why he introduced an uncomfortable exercise known as the Four H’s. Each person shares something from their History, a Hero they admire, a Heartbreak they’ve experienced, and a Hope they have.
It’s not comfortable. It’s not common in the macho culture of the NFL. But it’s effective.
When teammates know that level of personal information about one another, trust increases. Connection deepens. Accountability becomes more personal.
In leadership development workshops and Dynamic Teamwork sessions with executive teams, I often share a principle Vrabel clearly understands:
A team can form in an instant, but teamwork requires doing uncomfortable things together consistently.
Do you need to run the Four H’s exercise with your team? No. But if you want people to buy into standards and hold each other accountable, you must identify the uncomfortable things they’re willing to do together.
The Best Leaders Multiply the Mindset Through Their Best Players
It’s easy to crown a leader as great based on short-term success. But talent matters, and it always will. Surrounding yourself with talented people and getting them aligned around one mindset is essential.
Vrabel understands he needs strong working relationships with his best players because they carry the brightest candle for everyone else on the team.
Said differently:
Great leaders build strong relationships with their people, especially the ones they expect the most from.
Take wide receiver Stefon Diggs, one of my favorite former players at the University of Maryland as an example.
There’s no debate about his talent. Diggs is one of the most skilled wide receivers in the NFL. He’s an elite route runner and a relentless competitor, the kind of player defenses must game plan around. But for much of his career, that talent came with volatility. Frustration, emotion, and unmet expectations sometimes overshadowed his impact. At times, he was viewed as more of a distraction than an asset.
This year, that narrative looks different.
Under Vrabel, Diggs hasn’t been muted. He’s aligned. His edge is still there, but it’s channeled. And when your best players buy into the mindset, they don’t just perform. They model it. They make the standard visible for everyone else in the building.
That’s why great leaders stay close to their stars. Not to manage ego, but to multiply influence.
The Vrabel Example Worth Mimicking
No two leaders are the same. You shouldn’t try to be Mike Vrabel. You should focus on being yourself.
However, there are leadership behaviors worth studying and applying. There is no doubt that a title or authority doesn’t create alignment. Leadership does. And whether you lead a football team or a team at a bank, stop trying to hire the same personalities and start expecting the same winning mindset.
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About the Author: John Eades is the CEO of LearnLoft and The Sales Infrastructure. He was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices. John is also the author of Building the Best: 8 Proven Leadership Principles to Elevate Others to Success. You can follow him on Instagram @johngeades.