Cameron HeroldFounder of the COO Alliance & Invest In Your Leaders Training

You're leading the wrong team

5 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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0:30

Cameron Herold uses a Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver analogy to show why leaders focus on the wrong team. A receiver thinks the offense is their most important group, but the whole organization matters. Cross-functional alignment beats siloed success.

On the Cincinnati Bengals, we've got a wide receiver, and the wide receiver's got the offensive team and the special teams and the defensive teams. What's the most important team for the wide receiver of the Cincinnati Bengals? It's the entire team. No one gets this right. Everyone thinks, well, the wide receiver's on the offensive team, so of course that's his most important team. The CFO's in charge of finance, of course that's his most important team. The CMO's in charge of marketing, of course that's the most important team. No, it's effin' not.