Kurt Warner: Appropriate Manager

1. On the managerial incompetence scale we all strive to be competent managers. Truthfully most individuals never become that type of manager. However, Kurt Warner did. He is an excellent example of a competent manager. The book’s definition of a competent manager is “Mangers who are good at building teams and getting results through others”. Kurt Warner did this on numerous occasions throughout his career in football. The first example of him being a competent manager comes when Marshall Faulk is talking about him. Marshall’s definition is about exact same as the books plus a large emphasis on getting people to something that they themselves did not realize they could do. He first thinks of him as a leader during the game versus Detroit. Although
Coaching is “the process of equipping people with the tools, knowledge, and opportunities they need to develop and become more successful.” Mentoring is “a more personal relationship in which a more experience mentor acts as a guide and sponsor of a less experienced protégé. In my opinion Kurt Warner fulfills both those roles. We need only to look at his time in Arizona to see how he coached and mentored players of the Arizona Cardinals organization. First we have to look at the coaching aspect. When talking with Larry Fitzgerald he said “why I should be the best, I’m good enough”. It was then that Warner realized why he was there. He was going to help the Cardinals be more than good enough. He taught the team what it looked like in the meeting room, at practice, and how to act in order to be the best. He gave them the tools to succeed. In addition to that the documentary says he took Larry Fitzgerald “under his wing”! That phrase under his wing seems to me like a mentor taking on a person. Although Larry was already a pro bowl player he had much to learn. Warner elevated him to one of the best receivers in the NFL. You could see that it was more of a personal relationship as well. Larry has multiple stories of where he’s at his house either hanging out with Warner’s kids or eating dinner. At one point in the show there is even a picture of him with Warner’s son. I believe that his mentorship and coaching had a huge impact on the Cardinals. A team that had won one playoff game before his arrival now was a competitive member of the NFL and challenged for the championship each season he was starting there. Even after he retired the mentality continued with the likes of Fitzgerald and the Cardinals are still an extremely competitive organization in the