I agree with former N.B.A. star Charles Barkley: Athletes aren't role models. [1] But we don't need to put athletes up on a pedestal to acknowledge that at times they do exemplify certain characteristics that the rest of us may seek to emulate. One example is the ability to perform at peak levels in stressful circumstances, a challenge faced by almost all of my clients. More specifically, my clients are generally in leadership positions where they're responsible for helping a group of people perform under pressure, and in this context I'm reminded of an episode from the storied career of Joe Montana, a Hall of Fame quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers.
Following the 1988 season Montana led the team into the playoffs for the fourth straight year--but the prior three seasons had all ended with first-round losses, and the team faced a great deal of pressure to end this streak. The 49ers made it to the Super Bowl in January 1989, where they faced the Cincinnati Bengals in Miami. Here I need to note that the comedic actor John Candy isn't nearly as well-known today, having died relatively young in 1994, but at the time he was the fifth-highest grossing movie star in the U.S., ahead of Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford. [2] Candy specialized in broad, farcical humor, typically playing a character who remained oblivious to the chaos he created around him. An uncredited writer for the Pro Football Hall of Fame interviewed Montana about the conclusion of the game:
Trailing 16-13 with 3:20 left in the game, the 49ers had the ball on their own eight-yard line. "Some of the guys seemed more than normally tense," Montana recalled, "especially Harris Barton, a great offensive tackle who has a tendency to get nervous..." Just then [Montana] happened to spot the late actor John Candy in the stands. "Look," he said, "isn't that John Candy?" It was hardly what his teammates expected to hear in the huddle with the Super Bowl on the line. But it definitely broke the tension. "Everybody kind of smiled, and even Harris relaxed, and then we all concentrated on the job we had to do." [3]
Montana's 49ers went on to score the winning touchdown, and without viewing him as some sort of larger-than-life figure, I think his intervention in this moment offers leaders a straightforward, instructive example of how to help people manage stress and rise to a challenge:
- Zoom out. While everyone else undoubtedly zoomed in to focus on the next play and their individual responsibilities, Montana zoomed out to see the bigger picture. And he didn't just scan the crowd--he also scanned his teammates and observed that they were tensing up. Spotting John Candy wasn't a random act--it was triggered by Montana's awareness of the emotional state of the people around him.
- Stay loose. While this story is about Joe Montana, it's also about John Candy. It wouldn't have been nearly as useful if Montana had spotted Michael Douglas or Kevin Costner (the dramatic actors just above and below Candy on the 1989 box office list) or any number of other VIPs in the crowd. It was John Candy, who made himself a figure of mockery while maintaining his dignity in every scene. [4]
- Be brief. Montana spoke just five words: "Look, isn't that John Candy?" That's all it took to break the tension and shift the mood. His intervention was a mere pause in the action, but it was sufficient.
I don't mean to suggest that Montana was thinking deliberately about these issues in that moment. I have no doubt that he was acting intuitively and spontaneously, and we may feel that we don't possess such capabilities. Certainly very few of us would be able to act with Montana's ease in front of 75,000 screaming fans--but how many of us will ever need to? And yet all of us can take steps to expand our capacity to perform under pressure and to help others do the same:
- Invest in self-care practices such as exercise, sleep, meditation and reflection.
- Create the space necessary for these practices and other forms of deep work.
- Resist the tyranny of feelings and the sense of urgency they can evoke.
- Recognize that dysfunction isn't heroism and practice slowing down.
Footnotes
[1] This was the theme of a 1993 Nike ad campaign starring Barkley. That same year he hosted the season premiere of Saturday Night Live with musical guest Nirvana, and he and the band referenced the campaign in promotional videos: "I'm not a role model, and these guys really aren't role models."
[2] Highest Grossing Stars of 1989 at the Domestic Box Office (The Numbers)
[3] The Best Ever? The Story of "Joe Cool." (Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2005)
[4] Candy is also a tragic figure, of course, a point that seems important to acknowledge. Like fellow comedians John Belushi and Chris Farley, Candy played up his girth for laughs while dealing with health issues and substance abuse, and he died of a heart attack at age 43, just over five years after this story occurred.
Photos: Joe Montana via Sports Illustrated. John Candy in Uncle Buck.
