640: Tony Reno (Yale University Head Football Coach) - Writing a Team Creed, Leaving it Better Than You Found It, Going to Gettysburg, Leadership Retreats, & Winning Championships

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1:32Now, if that's you, then go to learningleader.com slash arena to apply. That's learningleader.com slash arena. Welcome to the Learning Leader Show presented by Insight Global. I am your host, Ryan Hawk. Thank you so much for being here. Go to learningleader.com for show notes of this and all podcast episodes. Go to learningleader.com. Now on to tonight's featured leader. So good. When Tony Reno was a senior in college, his football coach told him, you should do something you love. And Tony said, well, I love football. So he took an internship at a small Pennsylvania school making$3 ,000 a year.

2:26That was 1997. Today, Coach Reno has won four Ivy League championships, sent multiple players to the NFL, and has turned Yale football into a powerhouse. But that's not what I think is most impressive about him. I love that Coach Reno evaluates his players on living up to their core values, on living by the Yale football creed, and by leaving the jersey better than they found it. Coach Reno is truly about building leaders. He just uses football as a vehicle to do it. So if you desire to influence people, help them maximize their potential and leave a dent in the world, then you're going to love this conversation with Coach Tony Reno.

3:18So I heard about you from our mutual friend, General Stanley McChrystal. And he originally wrote about you in his most recent book. And so I also asked him after he wrote about you. And he said, I think this is spring of 2012. He's teaching leadership class at Yale. and he said, you know, not many things materially affect my trajectory. This is General McChrystal. But this time was different. What was different? I met Coach Tony Reno. And I'm like, wait a second, that stopped me in my tracks. So tell me what was it about that meeting more than 10 years ago now that you think you changed the arc of this four-star general's life?

4:03I mean, I don't know how I can respond to that. He is, as we both know, just an incredible person and leader in everything. So I got hired at Yale, as he said, in 2012. And I took over a program that was a very storied program, but a program that had fallen on some hard times. And so I say to people all the time, hey, when you get hired at 37 years old, usually something's wrong. Either that or you're just you're just ridiculously good. And I was not the ridiculously good. So I took over a program that had, you know, had some had some issues. And one of the issues was the team had really kind of moved themselves in a situation where they moved themselves away from the university.

4:49So I was looking for a way to bring someone in the university that might be meaningful to these student-athletes, might strike a chord with them. And, you know, hey, you know, okay, like this is someone that's in the university and we can have a way to get back in. And I'm flipping through everything I can, teachers and all different people. And I run into General Stanley McChrystal. I'm like, wow, this dude's here? And so I went down to my athletic director, Tom Beckett, and I had been on the job for maybe a month. And I said, Tom, this is what I'm thinking. And would you help me here? I don't have many people in the game here at Yale, so I could use a little bit of your time here.

5:37And he reached out to General McChrystal's secretary. And next thing you know, Sheryl Ann reached right back and said, the general would love to meet with you. And I had a lunch with him, kind of gave him my, I really like, this is where I think we're at. And would you mind help? And he said, sure, I'd love to speak to the team. So about three months in, we were in a kind of an older lecture hall at Yale, you know, really historic lecture hall. And he comes in and he gave this amazing speech about really about how to work together and how to become part of a university, a part of something, not just yourself.

6:18And at the end, I said, sir, I said, you know, I have a I have a dream to build a leadership program here. And he said, he said, I'd love to help. And that was it. And that started for me the most meaningful relationship of my life. and outside of my family. And he's become someone who has been a mentor, a friend, someone I pick up the phone and say, hey, what do you think about this? I'm so fortunate. And so that started about a year or a year long meetings where we'd have lunch and we'd talk about the goals of how we could build a leadership program. And my overall goal was I wanted to build a leadership program at Yale with my football team that could be the center point of everything we do.

7:12And it was like, hey, how do we build the most unique leadership program in Division I college football that is the center point of all we do? And this is how we're going to win. And I think that was the piece that I had no idea what I was really saying at the time. but now 12 years later it's been really the most really the most magical thing we've done here at Yale just to see the growth of our players I never knew that that that moment with with him in 2012 was going to turn into this and he's been you know obviously the centerpiece of it what I think it illustrates though is finding people you admire or look up to and then make the call right reach out to others with an idea or a vision and get help if needed.

8:07Because now 12, 13 years later, you have a fully fleshed out, baked leadership development program that sets your team up for life well beyond their four or five years with you. And so I feel like that's something that whether you stumbled into it or you were intentional about it, but this idea of reaching out and speaking with others can really change not only your life, but all of the people that you lead. It's so important to your point. I've been very blessed to have a relationship with General McChrystal and guys like Greg Vogel and all these other people, Graham Lamb. I mean, the list goes on and on.

8:46And what I found was I've been able to take so much from this group of of leaders. And every time, every stop, every meeting, every run up the hill at Gettysburg or, you know, just on the bus or at a meal, I've been able to really continue to grow our program. And now, you know, 12 years in, like our players are growing it themselves. And I don't think they even know it. One of the things that is really important to us, we say all the time, like, hey, the goals of our program are you leave the jersey better than you found it. And as you get to that moment, junior, senior year, you plant trees you'll never see grow.

9:29And what we found was at the beginning when we were saying it, I don't think we really knew how to do it. And now it's the most meaningful thing for our players, really the most meaningful thing for our coaches when they leave. Our coaches have gone, I've got guys, three guys who have become head coaches, guys in the NFL. And when they come into me and I'm so excited for that moment when they're moving on and just achieving some great things. It's like, hey, you know, did I really, did I do it? Did I leave this better than I found it? And our players, our seniors in their exit meetings, knowing that like, hey, guy, you did it.

10:09You left this jersey better than you found it. And these are the things that you did to bring this program forward. Talking about that, for me, some of the most meaningful things are when I have an older guy who, you know, graduates. And then two or three years later, I have a younger guy say to me, hey, this is how Ryan showed me how to do it. And I want to do it because he showed me the way. And that continues to move us forward. And that's been something that's been the most gratifying thing for me. It's such a way to just live life of, can I leave people, places, and things better than I found them?

10:51You could have that be a daily goal. And I love that that's a big part of the Yale program. I got to ask about Gettysburg. You mentioned it. We've both spent time there with General McChrystal. You guys go every year. Coach, I think this could be a portable lesson, not only for a football coach, but for all leaders within business of how to run a good leadership offsite. So could you take me inside both the planning and the execution of your trip to Gettysburg every year with your players? It's just the seniors. Is that right? It is. Seniors. Okay. So when you take your seniors, so your senior leaders would, much like the senior leaders of a company, they could take their senior people.

11:31So both whether you run a team or you run a business, I'm curious. I think this works either way. But the planning and the execution of your trip to Gettysburg with General McChrystal. People ask me about it. It's magical. It really is. I think that, obviously, the two things work well, incredibly well together. One of the most historic things in American history. And you're at a place that truly speaks to you in the Gettysburg battlefield and the town itself. It's just a really, really, as you know, a really special place. But it's our leadership program starts freshman year with our young guys.

12:10And it's really on building them individually and building them as a class. And it's so important for them as freshmen when they come in to, hey, learned about this in recruiting. You know, I learned about, hey, this is something we're going to do. And, OK, let's start this process. And then what happens is our program really goes through two, three years. And then finally, it's like, OK, this is really going to happen. We're going to go to Gettysburg. When they've probably they've met General McChrystal. They've been very, very important pieces of our program as far as leadership, the players.

12:46I mean, they don't really know what this is going to be. So we get on the bus and it's about a five hour bus ride. I hand them a handout of the players, General McChrystal and the gentlemen, the people he's going to bring with them, you know, amazing leaders. Right. And what I do is I stand. I kind of stand in front of them on the bus. And so if you think about it, it's 25 people there. And I ask them all to read it at the same time. And they do. And one of the most gratifying things for me is they get done reading it and their head pops up with their mouth wide open. And it's like, oh, wow. We're going to meet these people.

13:24We're going to spend time with these people did this. And they really are. You mean the others who McChrystal brings with them? McChrystal and everyone else. And it's like, okay, these are some amazing leaders who've done some amazing, amazing things. And this is real. Okay. And so the most important thing about the trip is what we're trying to do is use Gettysburg as a backdrop of trying to get this group of people to take the next step of being connected together. How do we get up one more notch of being a group of people that really wants to do things for each other, not for themselves? And we think at this point, we feel like we're probably, you know, a decent way there.

14:16But we need something else to really do that. So we get to Gettysburg. We check in the hotel. And General McChrystal does an amazing, really setting the scene of how did these two armies get there? And just talking about how there's people in this room that are very similar to these people that are fighting this battle. And what makes it so gratifying and what makes it so different is they're doing these things for the guy next to them. For the people at home, but really for the guy next to them. And that's what's separating them from others. And as we go along the night, some really meaningful conversations happen really amongst the players.

15:06And a lot of it has to do with the relationships they've built over four years. And a big part of our program, I would say the heartbeat of our program is relationships. And how will you, I always say, hey, put your teammates first and yourself last in everything you do. And if we can do that, then we have a chance. Then we have a chance to be someone in a group of people who are chasing elite. And as these soldiers were, they were doing things for each other, not for themselves. What happens over that first night is the, I think, conversations happen between this group of guys who really walked into a school together four years ago.

15:56but now they're different people. Now they're sitting at the table of leadership that they probably didn't think they were going to get to or maybe thought they'd get there, but this wasn't registering for them because they didn't have to sit there. And as they're sitting in this room at a hotel in Gettysburg, they really can figure out like, wow, okay, we're here now. And now we've got to really, if we're going to really leave this team better than we found it, We're going to have to really come together. And one of the things we do here, and I like to say, which I believe, and it's always nice when you can believe these things, right?

16:34But we're the first school in Division I football to number our teams. So, you know, this year's team is the 152nd team of football at Yale. And the reason we did it is we were looking for a way for each team to realize that a big piece of who they are is going to be remembered forever. And as Team 52 has a part of the legacy of Yale football, Team 152 does as well. And if we really are going to be someone who we say we are, we better for sure make Team 152 better than Team 151. So as those guys sit in that room, there's got to be a piece of them that they realize that, okay, we can do this. And as those guys in that battle, how do we do this together?

17:29So we do that the second day or the next morning and we take a jog up to where President Lincoln gave the Gettysburg Address. And we're up there. We're up on the we're up on the top of Cemetery Ridge at about 630 in the morning. And you can just it's beautiful enough in an April morning where it's, you know, I don't know, 50 degrees, sometimes 40 degrees. Who knows? It could be 30 degrees. But that has nothing to do with it. What has everything to do with it is the people that are there doing it together and really taking the moment to look at what had been done in American history and how there were people working together to really accomplish something incredible.

18:16And that's how we go within the first two days. And then we do, we stop at a four, we go back, have breakfast, and we stop at a few spots on the battlefield, field, which, you know, and I think are very significant because there's spots where there was an amazing leadership that was shown during the battle and it was done for others. It was people putting themselves out there to try and make sure that the people they were with had an opportunity to really accomplish something uncommon. Yeah. I remember General Mercosio was so good about like each spot having a teacher and sometimes it was him.

18:57So I'm sure he does the same for you guys. But when we went on the early morning run and we got to a couple, a couple spots before we went back for breakfast and he had like a British special forces guy there. I don't know if he brings them with you guys who had this insane accent and just looked exactly like you would expect the British special forces guy to look and sound. and I was like, oh my goodness, this is like a movie. It literally felt better than a movie hearing the guy describe that specific battle and the leadership that it took to overcome the adversity. And oh my God, I just remember thinking like, I can't believe I'm here.

19:35Like this is the coolest thing ever. So the fact that you guys do that every year with your seniors is such a gift for those players. Yeah, it sure is. And I'm betting it's Sir Graham Lamb. Yeah, I think, yeah, exactly. So is this the same guy who goes every year with you guys? We've been so fortunate that the relationships that Jeremy McChrystal has with General Lamb and Greg Vogel, who've been really the cornerstones with him, with Jeremy McChrystal, of our program for the last 12 years. Yeah, and they've become great mentors and great friends. And, you know, I've been so fortunate. And our players and coaches have been so fortunate to have these relationships with these amazing leaders.

20:14A couple things you said before. One, I love that you number your teams, which I was reading about when I was preparing. Two, I like that you have a team creed, which I believe was written by Team 142. I like to read it and have you describe the idea of a team creed and why it's this specific one that came from 142. And that is, I vow to believe in the process. I am mentally and physically tough. I compete with passion and overcome any challenges. I stand tall alongside my family at all times. I challenge my brother, believe in him, hold him accountable. As I create my own path, I always put team before myself.

20:52I strive for excellence on and off the field. I hold myself to a higher standard. I am a Yale football player. Tell me more about this idea of having a creed and how the team came up with it and why it means so much to you. So the genesis of it was our first trip to Gettysburg was on our second team. And we're coming back from Gettysburg and General McChrystal actually was on the bus with us. And we're about halfway to New Haven. And General McChrystal and I are just talking about what's next. Okay, where we are, what's next. And he looks at me and he says, does everyone on, does every coach know what a Yale football player is?

21:40I looked at him and I said, I think so. And he's every player know what a Yale football player is. And I said, I don't know. So we get talking about elite teams and elite groups, elite companies where there's these teams. you walk through a facility there's these companies you walk through a business and there's words there's hey we have our core values we who this is who we are and as you walk throughout the company the business the sports team and you walk up to a player a coach a business member and you say hey what are the core values and they look at you kind of like what do you mean core values or i don't even know what they are yeah i know we have core values but i don't know what they are.

22:29And then you talk about elite teams and it's like that. It's that fast because they not only know what they are, they don't not only believe what they are, but they actually believe what they are. And so we got talking about some of those teams and we got back the next, that Monday and I walked to my staff meeting and I said, okay guys, here's a pen, here's a paper. what's a Yale football player? So, you know, staff looked at me like, they like what happened to coach Reno this weekend, you know? And we came up with, it was, it was 60 some odd words for, you know, there was 20 guys talk about a completely dysfunctional group.

23:14And then I had a team meeting the next day and I did same exercise and it was over 150 words with complete, completely a group that had no idea who we were. So at that time, second year in, we're really trying to build who we are. I had the players elect a leadership council. So at Yale, I don't know how many people know, but Yale is, has one captain. It's a one captain system for all sports and the players vote on it. Coaches do not have a vote. The actual ballots are are counted by one of the athletic directors. So I'll get a phone call and, hey, Tony, you know, Ryan was an elected captain. You could tell him, you know, and however you want to handle it.

24:06That's how it's done, right? So, you know, it's been done that way since, you know, at the beginning of the captains at Yale, which is really, really unique. So what I had the players do was I had them at that time, I had the players elect two players from each class and the captain. So you had nine people in the group. And I went to the players and I said, all right, guys, this is my ask. We need to come up with core values and we need to come up with a creed. And these are the reasons why. And basically what I just said to you about elite groups and people in groups who just have words. And I said, really, I am going to be here to help, but this has got to be yours.

24:54And the captain of the Team 142 was a really amazing leader, Deion Randall. He's actually now a scout with the Denver Broncos. But just like selfless, tough, everything was about the team, nothing about him, just all the things you look for in a leader. and this group of nine came up with you know core values and which are in that which are in that creed and they put together this creed and it took them i don't know i think it might have been half a dozen meetings they introduced it to the team and i said all right guys there's got to be there's got to be standards to the game coaches players standards to the game and what are they And what they came up with was every player on the team to have a Y on their helmet needs to be able to stand in front of their teammates and recite the creed.

25:51And it has to be perfect. And for some reason, it's not perfect. You have an opportunity to do it again, but you don't get a Y. Wow. Now, one of the most magical moments of preseason every year is the freshman getting up in front of the team and reciting the creed. now the ask of my only ask of this piece was and this is the only piece i have of this whole piece was that i said i love all of it but it has to be that the older guys have to teach the younger guys and for some reason if a young guy doesn't get it it's on the older guys so that there's there's not a everybody's in everybody's bought into this everybody's bought into it is this similar to i think it was on one of the military movies where they had the young navy seals stand up in front of the group of the other seals and recite i think it was their i don't know if they call it their creed but it sounds something similar did you derive that from the military or is this something you just came up with to say hey everybody's going to memorize this the note inside it out and then be able to say it in front of the team gentleman crystal and i spoke about the creeds the ranger creed you know the creeds of all the special op units a piece of that and so must a lot of this did come from that the piece of the older guys teaching the younger guys could very well be from special ops but we took that as It's something we wanted to make ours as well.

27:35I love it. Well, just because the best teams that I've been a part of, and I'd be curious to hear what you think about this, certainly had good coaches, but they were player-led teams. The players in practice, if a guy wasn't going as hard as he could go, before a coach could even say anything, another player would say something. When people ask me what's the difference between, because I've been on losing teams too, what's the biggest difference between the teams that I was on that won a lot, versus the teams that didn't. I think it's that. I think it's that thing where the players actually spoke up before a coach can even get to them.

28:13Now, the coaches did their thing too, right? And they created the environment where that could happen. And they built on some of the player-led accountability stuff. But I'm curious how you have built, and it sounds like it starts with the creed, a place where the players hold each other accountable just as much, if not more, than the coaches do. And so much of it is exactly what you said, you know, and that was so the creed was the start of it. Now, we don't have a lot of words. We don't have like we have a we have a pyramid with with some things that are in it, you know, that we use year in year out.

28:51But the basis, the foundation of our pyramid is our creed. It all starts with that. And one of the things that I think is really important is good or bad. If you ever have, you know, we bring a player in to have a meaningful conversation. And I want to point out, hey, this is you did this really well. And this is right in the creed. There's a guy that might be misguided. And I say, hey, let's go through the creed. Where do we go wrong? it's i mean it's it's ryan it is uncanny it's all right there yeah but we've been able to really just bring things really close together and and it's not a lot you know it's like the old adage like do a little a lot not a lot a little and that's who we are but to your point what we've been able to do is we've been able to really generate the opportunity to make it a player-led team.

29:48And I think a lot of our success has become of that. And our ability to really handle adversity is because of that. Because the guys are really not only there for each other, but willing to do things for each other because they know that if they can be accountable to each other and can generate success with each other, it's true and it's real. I mean, it's also right there. in the creed, I challenged my brother, believe in him, hold him accountable. I mean, that's, that's the, that's part of the ethos of the whole program. In addition to that, and I love traditions, as you could potentially tell coach, one of your other traditions is about the brick.

30:33What's the brick? What does that stand for? And why did you institute this? And what do you get out of it? I'm always looking for ways to get guys to learn more about each other in unconventional ways. And, you know, football has a tendency to be, I don't know, macho might be an old word that, you know, you and I grew up in our high school, but guys don't want to be as open because they're, you know, they're kind of afraid to let their guard down. So what we do is we go to Home Depot and we buy these 88 cent bricks and we ask the players, hey, we need you to take this brick and on four of the sides of the bricks, your hero, your hardship, your hometown, and your highlight in your life.