When it comes to building a culture, guys like PJ Fleck and Geoff Collins understand the importance and effectiveness of telling a story.
Today, with likely the most visual generation in the history of mankind, pictures and video have a unique way of communicating a story.
With Super Bowl LIV just a few days away, NFL.com did a nice article on 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan and his coaching style. One interesting thing that was brought up in the piece was by former coaching colleague Rich Scangarello, who shared how Shanahan, in the days as the game draws closer, uses a unique version of storytelling to bring confidence and a laser focus to his team.
An excerpt from the article:
"His Friday run meetings and his Saturday night meetings are legendary," Scangarello said. "You get more adrenaline and more confidence coming out of that than you could ever believe. Kyle's a storyteller. When he gets in front of the room, he just points out all the details, shares the vision, and he does it with video. Video is his way of articulating things to everybody. He paints a picture for everyone, and you just get this belief, like, 'Oh, we're gonna be successful.' "
It's a well known story now how Kyle was once ripped by his father, legendary Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan for an install period that the father critiqued to his son as "the worst install he'd ever seen in his life."
Harnessing the power of storytelling isn't something that everyone can deliver on, but those that find a way to do it effectively often have the most tangible results when it comes to building a winning culture.
Kyle took the reigns of the team back in 2017 as the once proud 49ers were coming off a 2-14 season. They immediately improved to 6-10 in his first season before battling injuries in year to and slipped to 0-9 in year two before managing to refocus and finish a (still disappointing) 4-12. This year, they've put together a special 13-3 season heading onto the biggest stage in sports. Storytelling has been a big part of the team's transformation.
Shanahan and his 49ers will face off against the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday in Super Bowl LIV at 6:30pm EST on FOX.
Head here to read the full piece, including some solid stories of what Kyle Shanahan is like on the headset on game day.