Tim Tebow’s faith makes for controversial NFL stardom but wins keep mystique alive

Tim Tebow’s run of wins after being elevated to starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos has made him one of the memorable storylines of the NFL season. His outspoken faith and un­or­tho­dox offensive production has made him a national media phenomenon. As Sally Jenkins wrote, others should be learning from Tebow’s leadership :

In the past few weeks, area coaches have given clinics in failed leadership. The Washington Capitals staged a virtual work stoppage on the ice under Boudreau. The Maryland football team quit so badly on Edsall, they lost seven consecutive games by double digits. And the Washington Redskins lost six in a row thanks in part to Mike Shanahan’s misjudgment that the happy-talk of quarterback John Beck was leadership, only it turns out they trust Beck’s fellow signal-caller Rex Grossman more, even when he throws interceptions.

Meantime, Tebow has given us a starkly powerful display of the real thing, and so has the underrated leader who had the guts to hand the team over to him, Broncos Coach John Fox.The Broncos are 5-1 over their last six games, and Fox was smart enough last Sunday to ask Tebow to give the pregame talk that led to a crucial overtime victory over the San Diego Chargers and put them in the playoff hunt.

“I’ve never seen a human who can will himself to win like that,” Broncos linebacker Von Miller told the Denver Post afterward. “He gave us a great speech. We came out fired up. And that was a wrap.”

So what exactly is that mysterious quality called leadership? It’s not exactly charisma; it doesn’t hurt that Tebow gleams like a superhero, but the worst despots are charismatic too. It’s not exactly talent, either. According to experts, one reason we struggle to define it is because we look at it from the wrong side up.

“The academic study of leadership has failed, and the reason is that it focuses on the leader, when the appropriate focus is on the followers,” suggests research psychologist Robert Hogan, who profiles executives for Fortune 500 companies. When we flip the examination of leadership on its head and look at what followers will follow, we get a better idea of what quality we’re talking about.

“What is it the followers are looking for?” he asks. “The focus should be on the work force or the team, and what they perceive. Because if they don’t perceive the right thing in a leader, you’re through.”

As the final kick of the Broncos’ win over the San Diego Chargers was sailing through the uprights, viewers around the country were watching Tim Tebow kneeling in prayer, eyes closed, a sight that has become its own phenomenon. As Matt Brooks explained :

First there was planking. Then came owling. Then batting. Now “Tebowing” is the latest bizarre photo pose sweeping the nation.

And why not? Tim Tebow is all the rage!

He’s inspiring epic comebacks (after playing terribly for nearly 55 minutes). He’s inspiring epic pop song covers (Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga and Wiz Khalifa might disagree). He’s partnering with charities that help provide medical care for impoverished children in developing countries (no drawbacks to this one).