Leadership gets tested when the stakes are high, and that’s exactly where this conversation starts. Drew Bledsoe, Terron Armstead and Marc Trachenberg sit down with Diego Sanchez and Allison LaForgia to unpack the real decisions, habits and mindset shifts that shaped how they lead today.
From lessons carried over from the NFL, hard calls they’d rethink, this discussion cuts through theory and gets into what actually works. This discussion explores how discipline from the NFL translates into business, how leaders navigate uncertainty, and what they’ve learned along the way. It’s a look at leadership shaped by real pressure, not hypotheticals.
#LeadershipInsights #BusinessGrowth #TeamBuilding
From lessons carried over from the NFL, hard calls they’d rethink, this discussion cuts through theory and gets into what actually works. This discussion explores how discipline from the NFL translates into business, how leaders navigate uncertainty, and what they’ve learned along the way. It’s a look at leadership shaped by real pressure, not hypotheticals.
#LeadershipInsights #BusinessGrowth #TeamBuilding
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NewsTranscript
00:06Live from Austin, I'm Diego Sanchez, president of HousingWire, and I'm joined by some really
00:13special guests. We just had a great time on stage. Got Drew Bledsoe, I've got Teron Armstead,
00:18got Mark Trachtenberg, the specials of them all, and Allison LaForgia, managing editor in our
00:25content studio. So great to have you gentlemen with us today. I'm going to start with Drew.
00:32What's the best piece of leadership advice that you've received in your career, whether it's your
00:39first act or second act of your career, and how did it change the way you led? So my favorite
00:44leadership quote actually came to me, I got to spend some time with Jim Mattis, with General Jim
00:49Mattis, who was our former Secretary of Defense. I think he claims the quote came from somebody else,
00:54but I attribute it to him. But if you're going to be a leader, you listen, you learn, you help,
01:00and then you lead, right? And what he would say is that if you do the first three effectively,
01:07you almost never have to get to number four, right? If you really listen, you really try to
01:11learn what the issue is, and then you try to help with that issue, generally you solve the problems.
01:16And then if all else fails, then you lead and give direction. And that's, you know, I found out as
01:23a
01:23quarterback, now you, you know, you're giving orders as a, as a quarterback, but you're also
01:27taking a lot of information and trying, trying to, uh, trying to digest as much information as you can
01:33before you actually go, you know, go actually lead the troops.
01:36Terran, how about you?
01:38I won't necessarily say I have a quote, Diego. Um, it's more so through, through experience in,
01:44in leadership. I was a team captain for the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins for
01:48seven, eight years. And I think the biggest key to being a leader, being a captain, a head coach
01:55is knowing your personnel. So, you know, how to lead, what gets the most out of certain individuals.
02:02Not everyone responds the same from your interactions, whether some people need tough
02:08coaches, some people need more of a compassionate and a step-by-step approach. So knowing your
02:13personnel and you, you can only do that by listening and, and, and learning the, the personality and
02:19what gets the most out of, out of the individual.
02:21Sounds like you're almost customizing your leadership approach based on the individual.
02:26Especially for the receivers. Man, the receivers are always their, their own special bag of tricks,
02:31man. These diva receivers, they need a hug all the time. You got to tell them you love them.
02:35You know, sorry, you didn't have 11 catches, but I still love you. Uh, man, the receivers,
02:41man, they were deep us. Mark, how about you? I think humility and humbleness is a big piece of
02:48it. Um, I think we, as leaders and as people who rise to success, and I think Drew hit on
02:53this
02:53earlier is success creates a lot of other challenges and you don't want to be wrong. The more successful
02:58you become. And I think it's more important to actually be okay with being wrong. And Diego,
03:03you and I do that even on the political side of it too, right? Like it's okay to be right
03:06and wrong
03:07at the same time because it actually helps collaborate. And it goes back to Drew's thing about
03:11listening. Like sometimes being at that leadership role, the humility and humbleness that allows you
03:15to listen better and be more effective, especially when it comes to decision-making for the future,
03:20because a lot of times us as leaders, just, we say, this is our vision and we just run towards
03:24that vision no matter what. And, and that's where you see a lot more failures and a lot more pain
03:29points throughout all of that. But, you know, I think it's, it's also learning, right? When you,
03:33when you're actually willing to listen and you actually want to be humble,
03:35you actually learn a lot. The two-way street aspect of leadership is really important to me.
03:42And I really do feel like I learn just as much, if not more from the team that, that, that,
03:49that,
03:49that they're learning from me. So I, I love, I love that. And I think that happened even with
03:53this, like I'm learning a lot from these gentlemen, just simply on what their, their experience on the
03:58field was. And, you know, we've had a lot of business discussions now off the field and I think
04:03it's a vice versa. So I always say in these things, everyone's like, well, Mark, how much did you pay
04:07him to do that? The answer is nothing. Right. It's also because we sat down and it's, it's more
04:12of a collaboration and the learning aspect of it's real, right? Like, and understanding who each
04:18other is and how it's everything in life is mutually beneficial, right? It's not a one-way street. And I
04:23said it, and I, we were out in Arizona, I said the same thing is we're, why, why am I
04:27here? I'm here
04:27because it's, it's, it's a win-win. Like an athlete needs help from, from a business person, but a business
04:32person wants to use the name, image and likeness to help grow their companies. And I'm not sitting
04:36here lying. I've said it every single time somebody's on stage with me is that there's a
04:39mutual beneficial approach to this whole thing. And as long as we're both being successful and
04:44we're having a good time together and being honest with each other, it's, it's no one walks out of it
04:48going, oh my God, that was a bad thing. Or, oh my God, that was a one and done thing.
04:52And I don't know
04:52how these guys feel, but it's, it's, it's in a very short period of time, there's been a very big
04:56mutual benefit for everybody. 100%. No, 100%, Mark. You know, I've really enjoyed our time. I'm
05:03captivated. I, although I will say that, that this dude's brain works a little different than
05:07most anybody that I've been around. When we've had some of these conversations, he'll say something
05:13and I'll like, I just need you, I just need to be quiet for a second. I have to process
05:16what you
05:17just said. Cause my, my, my, my synapses fire a little slower than, but man, it's been a, it's
05:24been a wildly cool relationship already. And I know that, that it will continue to be that going
05:29forward. That's fantastic. So I want to follow up Diego's question and dig a little bit more into
05:35leadership strategies. Leading when the waters are calm is one skillset leading under pressure
05:43in stormy waters is a very different skillset. What is one leadership decision that you've made
05:50in a high pressure moment that paid off? And what's one that you would rethink?
05:55Oh man, if you're going back to football, man, there's a lot of them that I would rethink.
06:00But, you know, I think as a quarterback, and then also as a, as a business leader, the ability to
06:06be
06:06calm and, and think clearly in a stressful situation, um, is a really important trait to be able to have.
06:15And to be honest with you, um, when I look back at my playing career, I don't think I was,
06:22I wasn't,
06:23I wasn't at my best when we were in the lead, my mind would wander. I'd think about what was
06:29for dinner,
06:30you know, whatever. But I, when, when, when, uh, when the shit hit the fan, man, I, that's when I
06:35felt like
06:35I was at my best, you know, I love it. You know, I love it. And, and in our, uh,
06:40in our business,
06:41um, you know, when things, um, when things, something goes sideways, when we have a weather
06:47event or market conditions, or, you know, some screw up in the company, that's when I really feel
06:52like, um, I can provide real leadership, um, more often than not, just by being able to think
06:59clearly in a stressful situation. How important do you think that thinking clearly and being calm
07:06in that moment is for the rest of the team that supports you? Oh, it's huge. It's huge. You know,
07:12you know, as you're, as the leader, whether it's, whether it's quarterback, whether it's owner of the
07:15business, um, you know, if, well, the, the, if it was the opposite, you know, things go sideways and
07:22they see the leader panicking, man, now we got no shot. But when you, uh, but when you, uh, when,
07:28when things are sideways and you can, and you can show that you're calm, can communicate a plan for
07:35how we're going to work through something that's, that's difficult, um, then it just settles
07:40everybody else down and you can, uh, and you can, and you can go forward from there.
07:44Tron, what about you?
07:45Yeah, I was, uh, I was fortunate enough to play with a guy, Drew Brees, for a decade. And to,
07:52to Drew Bledsoe's point, his, his calmness in the midst of the storm, in the middle of chaos,
07:59in the worst conditions was always, it was borderline crazy, borderline insanity, but he
08:07was just so laser focused, never wavered. And I adapted it. I, I, I really took from Drew and a
08:17lot
08:17of his, his ways of leadership and just tried to be the same way. So as I go, got older,
08:22and progressed throughout the league. And especially when I got to Miami with a, with a young team
08:26and a young quarterback at tour to a tongue of our lower, we had moments where the offense can't,
08:32we can't get the ball moving. We were, we're struggling. This is late in the game. And I just
08:37calm everybody in the huddle. Hey, let's breathe. Let's get back to our fundamentals.
08:43The first, let's get this first, first down, and then we can build from there. Let's get a rhythm.
08:46And just that, just that calmness, that, that sense of security and leadership get us on the right
08:54track. And we go down and we're able to execute. And how critical is that mindset that you maintained
09:00for the outcome that was then achieved in those high pressure moments? I think it's, it's, it gives
09:08you the best chance. It doesn't guarantee anything, but I, I would say if you are frantic and you,
09:15you can't focus, it guarantees a loss. So in order to give yourself and your team the best
09:19chance to be productive and to be successful, you have to have that focus. You have to have that
09:25calmness. You have to have that sense of, of confidence that you guys can go out and execute
09:31together. Now, Mark, the mortgage industry has not exactly been calm. High pressure is probably
09:41very apt. How do you lead?
09:43I think when you start looking at the differences, you know, they've got a paycheck coming in
09:47at times as a leader and in a business, you don't know if you're going to make payroll,
09:52right? Especially in, and especially in that crazy times. And I think when you look at it,
09:56you got a calmness in business that's required as a leader, but you also need to understand
10:00and deliver the passion and urgency that are required when it's a stormy condition,
10:05right? So there's, there's a fine line between being so calm that no one else is reacting to it
10:10because you got the headwinds coming in front of you and you still got to lead with passion,
10:15with compassion and urgency. Because a lot of times you look at business decision-making right
10:19now, there's urgency, but the bigger urgency to me is when you know you made a mistake,
10:24right? Instead of trying to let that thing ride itself out, you got to look at the urgency and say,
10:28okay, it's time to pivot because this shit ain't working. And if I continue down this path,
10:32then I'm going to be in a worse spot. So as much as I agree with them on the field,
10:36I think off the field, it's a little bit different because calmness, especially in our industry is not
10:41a virtue that most people have, right? And there's, there's, I think you've got to look at it with
10:45delivering. I think the deliverable becomes a different scenario in our business, which is,
10:49and you could see it the way even in professional sports is they're still calm, but they're still
10:53passion. And I think when you look at it, like in a huddle, it's not like, he's like,
10:57hey guys, let's go run and have a good day, right? There's still, there's still the moxie behind that
11:02whole thing, but it's, it's coming across where it's not like a panic side of passion. Yeah. Yeah.
11:09Calm urgency. Like, cause it's weird. Oh, it's great intensity. Make no mistake about it. You know,
11:15especially with this, what this dude did, he's, he's, he's fighting with the biggest, strongest,
11:19baddest dudes on the planet. You know, it's, it's intense as hell. Um, but you also have to have
11:26with that intensity, you have to have a, be able to have a calm brain so that you know what
11:31the plan
11:31is. And so, you know, to, I mean, to Mark's, to Mark's point, no, you're still communicating
11:35urgency. Like, obviously it's very urgent on the field and business is the same. It's very urgent,
11:40but to be able to calmly communicate the way forward, um, is where that calmness plays in.
11:45It's the plan. You can be, when you don't have a plan, you're less calm, right? Because you're,
11:51you're chaotic. When you have a plan, you could stay calm and still put in that passion, still put
11:55in the urgency behind it. And that's where as a leader, I think it's important to understand when
11:58the plan isn't working. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I find that, um, it's almost always the case that if I
12:04don't plan my next day, the day before, something's going to happen during that next day that it's going
12:09to throw me off course and it's hard to get back on track. So having that plan in place, it
12:14definitely
12:14steadies you. Teron, what's, uh, now that you're moving into the second act of, uh, of your career,
12:20um, what's a skill that you're taking from the NFL into the second act?
12:24I think the, the leadership component of it is, is something that I believe is a strength of mine,
12:29but it's a phrase being a servant leader. Like I'm always the one that wanted to lead by example,
12:36lead by demonstration. Um, I can be at the front of the front of the line and, and lead the
12:42team or I
12:42can go all the way in the back and, and oversee. So just being that servant leader, having that
12:47balance to, I could, I can grab the, the, the, the broom and, and, and sweep, or I can, I
12:53can sit
12:53back and oversee. So that, that servant leadership is something that, that I, that I have, um, consistent,
13:01reliable, pretty smart guy. You know what I mean? I have some, I have some skills.
13:06I think one of the things too, with these guys is communication. And we set it up on stage in
13:10Arizona,
13:10which is there's two types of communication. One's talking and one's effective. Right.
13:15And I think one of the things that I've really appreciated with these guys is that effective
13:19communication that it doesn't have to be lengthy. It could actually be very short and be effective.
13:24Um, and everyone's world is busy, right? So understanding how you, how you deliver that
13:30message and how people receive that message. Right. And I think that's a big piece of where,
13:33where businesses get it wrong too, is what is somebody receiving? What we think they're hearing
13:38me not to be exactly what they're receiving. Drew, you've got a growing wine business. Um,
13:43what, what's, what's a skill that you've taken from your football career into, into growing this wine
13:49business in your second act? Man, it's, it's, it's everywhere, man. Our, our team, I know they get
13:52tired of me talking about my old football days, but you know, the, the skills are just so directly
13:58trans, they so directly translated into business. Um, you know, it's, it's community, it's having
14:04the plan, but being able to communicate that plan so that people hear it. Um, it's being
14:10like intentionally open-minded, you know, you said earlier, and I, this has been true in our business,
14:14you know, a lot of the best ideas that have been formative in our business have not come from the
14:18top down. They've come from our people that are in the trenches. Um, you know, it's, it's, uh,
14:25embracing adversity when that comes along. Uh, you know, every time something has gone sideways in our
14:30business, we've come out the other side as a better company. You know, so now when things go
14:34wrong, we're like, okay, this is going to be cool because we're gonna be better because of this.
14:37Now we don't try to screw up on purpose, but you know, um, and then it's, uh, and then it's,
14:42um,
14:43having the right players in the right positions. Uh, you know, there's some people that need to be
14:47front of the house. There's some people that are in ops in the back that don't need to interact with
14:52people. Um, there's some people that did like T-STEP was saying earlier, there's, there's people that
14:56just simply need their marching orders. And that's the only communication that they need.
14:59There's other people that you need to ask about their day. You need to ask about their family.
15:04You need to give them a hug, you know, like, you know, um, and so you, you have to understand
15:08where people are coming from, um, so that you can effectively communicate with them
15:13in the language that they understand. I want to end with something that we can give everybody
15:20to take home. And I think a big piece of leadership. Well, there you go. Yeah, exactly.
15:26Got your plug. Thank you, Mark. We'll have that at the show next.
15:29Very excited for that later. But what is one habit or standard that you refuse to compromise on
15:36that you think has helped you be successful?
15:40I'm going to go just morals and ethics. There's a, there is a right and wrong. And I think that's
15:44where America's starting to get it wrong. There truly is a right and wrong. And you know,
15:48at the end of the day, it's not just about making money. It's about doing what's right. It's about
15:52taking for our industry, moving it forward in the proper manner. Um, understanding if we're trying
15:56to lower the consumer cost of a loan, what does that mean? And doing it truthfully, right. And
16:01doing it at the end of the day, because what you can never repair is when you BS somebody and
16:07then
16:07the result isn't what, what it is that you're saying. Now you've got to be even bigger uphill
16:11battle. And that's tough, especially in an industry, especially with social media,
16:15especially with everything right now, because you don't have to really be honest and correct
16:19in social media today. Right. And our president United States is showing that at times, right?
16:24Like at the end of the day, the propaganda behind it, and Diego knows I love them to death,
16:29but I don't love their approach right now. And I think it's having more harm than good,
16:33even though the principles and philosophies are there. But I really think at the end of the day,
16:37when you're looking at the morals and ethics, you just cannot waver from because at the end of the
16:41day, it will come out and you might as well just, even as painful as it is to lose money
16:46or
16:46not be as successful. I think that's a big piece of it because at the end of the day,
16:50you just go to bed at night and your team can see it too. That's another big piece of it,
16:54the team around you can sense it. And when you're not being as straightforward, it's challenging.
16:59And then now, not only are you dealing with your consumer or your customer side of it,
17:02now you're dealing with the people side of it because they're seeing a lack of success
17:05and companies and teams, people want to see success. And that's what drives off of it,
17:09in my opinion. All right, Sharon, what's one thing you refuse to compromise on?
17:15Respect, respect, respect, respect. I think that that is a non-negotiable. No matter who you come
17:23across, no matter the title, I think treating people with respect and also respecting yourself,
17:29respecting your own time, respecting your own plans and vision, but having that same respect for
17:35anybody that you come across from a waiter or a janitor to the executive, the president,
17:41doesn't matter. Just having the utmost respect for anybody that you interact with.
17:45How do you, how critical do you think that respect is both that you've received and given
17:50in your career to the success that you've had leading teams? Do you think that that surprises
17:56people that you have that foundational set? I think that's how I show up. That's how I show up.
18:02That's what I'm known for, just to bring that in. It has propelled my career. I really feel that way,
18:08that it is the reason why I have been successful in my career and will be successful in my next
18:14career.
18:14It's just the approach, treating people with that level of respect, demanding it for myself as well,
18:22without ever saying it. It's just the way that I show up, the way that I present.
18:26I think that's fantastic. To be clear, respect in the NFL and in pro sports is never given,
18:34it's earned. He didn't become a team captain just by accident. He earned that on a daily basis,
18:43and not just on Sunday, but on Monday through Saturday as well, by being the dude that was
18:47doing the work. It's a big word, but I feel like we're all talking about the same thing in different
18:54ways, but I would say integrity. That's the one thing that you never compromise. Once you compromise
18:59that, there's no going back. You've got to be authentic in what you do. You have to try to do
19:04right over and over and over again, especially when nobody's watching, because that's what builds
19:11that personal integrity inside, is to do the right thing because it's the right thing, and you
19:18do that over and over and over again, and then you at least have a shot at being successful.
19:23So there's no magic bullet. You just got it. There's no magic pill. No, hell no. No, you've
19:28got to live it on a daily basis. There's no overnight success. I got drafted in the first round,
19:40but that was a culmination of a life up to that point. I did have a pretty live right arm,
19:46but
19:46if it was only about my right arm, man, I wouldn't have gone very far. It was all the other
19:52stuff.
19:52Diego, what's one thing you refuse to compromise on?
19:55Oh, wow. I thought those answers were just incredible. Mark, I have to give you a shout
20:01out on the morals and ethics and the respect, integrity. These are all super important words
20:11to me. I'm not a super religious guy, but I try to live with pretty high moral standards and teach
20:18those to my kids as well. So I just love the way we've ended this conversation. Those words are
20:24really important to me. Yeah. Thank you guys so much for your time, and thank you for letting us
20:28glean some leadership insights that were hard won and carved out by your experience.
20:33Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. I appreciate it. Thanks guys.
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