Getting the right people
Irsay does not shy away from the spotlight and takes responsibility for building the organization, but he knows he can’t do it alone.
“It’s really critical that a leader understands how to surround himself with the best people and not look over his shoulder [concerned] that this person will get too much credit,” Irsay says.
Once he identifies the best candidate available, Irsay goes after the person.
“I don’t like a lot of question marks,” Irsay says. “You can’t always come up with that individual. If you like someone, you’d better get him. Forget about how much it costs. You’d better be aggressive, and you’d better get that person if he’s going to be a key player in your organization.
“People set certain boundaries in terms of ‘How aggressive are we going to be?’ Sometimes they don’t go in with the mentality of, ‘I’m hiring this guy, and that’s it, and I’m going to figure out a way to get it done.’ There are not enough good people out there. That is the problem.”
Irsay’s reasoning is simple: If you want a successful organization, you’ve got to find the people who can make it happen.
“Good decisions beget good decisions,” Irsay says. “Bad decisions oftentimes have a ripple effect and domino in the other direction. So, you have to be very careful that you put together the foundation of your organization.”
In 1997, Irsay found the new president of his organization in Bill Polian, who at the time was under contract with the Carolina Panthers. Irsay has known and observed Polian for more than 20 years, and the two worked on the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement when Irsay was the 24-year-old general manager of the Colts.
“He was a multiple executive-of-the-year winner,” says Irsay. “He had built the Bills team and Carolina. I knew I didn’t have to ask myself, ‘Is he good enough to be general manager and president of the team? Does he have the organizational skills to run the draft?’”
Irsay calls Polian and head coach Tony Dungy two of the pillars of his organization, the supports that provide the foundation for the rest of it.
“The critical pillars — you have to get it right,” he says. “If you don’t, it can lead you down a long track of failures. You can spend a lot of time trying to correct the poor decisions.”
Once you’ve got the right people in place, get out of the way and let them do their jobs.
“Give them room to be creative,” Irsay says. “Always be there to support them and ask them the difficult questions to play devil’s advocate. That part of leadership is essential.”
But you can only do that with the right kind of people, those who have a passion for what they do.
“What I try to look for is someone who has a real passion for the job,” Irsay says. “I want someone who is extremely enthusiastic and motivated to come to work, that they understand working in the National Football League really is a privilege, and you have a chance to be part of the greatest game and be part of something that is so important and so loved by so many people in this country.”