Brandon Beane
Buffalo Bills, General Manager
Fill the gaps in your knowledge
The 2023-2024 NFL season kicks off tonight! And behind all the big plays and personalities, there are a LOT of leadership lessons to learn.
Starting with today’s guest, Brandon Beane, who’s the General Manager of the Buffalo Bills.
His job is to head up all the operations, including trades, drafts, contract negotiation, salary cap management, and – of course – collaborating with the coaches on the roster.
THAT is a LOT of things to be good at!
And when you hear this conversation with Brandon, you’ll see it doesn’t just happen. He’s very intentional about the way he builds his know-how in all these areas. He’s got the humility to spot what he doesn’t know. And he’s got the confidence to go out and learn it.
To grow as a leader and build the career you want, you’ve got to understand where the gaps are in your knowledge and be willing to fill them.
Listen to this conversation to see how it’s done! You’ll also learn:
- Tips for a successful collaborative relationship
- One key piece of wisdom to help you communicate big “shock-the-system” changes
- What it’s like behind the scenes of the NFL draft (including the year they got Josh Allen)
- Practical advice for personnel decisions—even when it means making tough cuts
- How to recover from a big loss
- The powerful leadership lessons from Damar Hamlin’s life-and-death situation last season
Take your learning further. Get proven leadership advice from these (free!) resources:
The How Leaders Lead App: A vast library of 90-second leadership lessons to stay sharp on the go
Daily Insight Emails: One small (but powerful!) leadership principle to focus on each day
Whichever you choose, you can be sure you’ll get the trusted leadership advice you need to advance your career, develop your team, and grow your business.
More from Brandon Beane
Make decisions in the best interest of your team
Not every decision you make as a leader will work out and people won't always agree with you. But if you put the team first, you can sleep well at night knowing that was the anchor point for your decision.
Avoid the "disease of me"
If you want to build a strong team, look for people who are motivated by a collective goal and know how to keep their ego in check.
Always learn from your toughest losses
It’s painful to revisit your worst moments. But that’s the only way to learn from your mistakes, get better, and eventually succeed.
Stay level-headed when your decisions are scrutinized
Not everyone will love your decisions—and that’s okay. Trust yourself, especially when you’re working with context others can’t see.
Clips
| Clip | Leader | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Learn from different roles and departments | Brandon Beane | 1:12 |
| Define how you want to build and run your organization | Brandon Beane | 1:05 |
| Make decisions in the best interest of your whole team | Brandon Beane | 0:56 |
| Avoid the "disease of me" | Brandon Beane | 0:50 |
| Communicate big changes with honesty | Brandon Beane | 1:08 |
| Infuse selflessness into your culture | Brandon Beane | 0:40 |
| Set the standard for what you expect | Brandon Beane | 1:00 |
| Stay level-headed when your decisions are scrutinized | Brandon Beane | 0:49 |
| Don't mis-evaluate your own roster | Brandon Beane | 0:56 |
| Structure your talent contracts the right way | Brandon Beane | 1:30 |
| Always learn from your toughest losses | Brandon Beane | 1:26 |
| Taking time to listen is always worth it | Brandon Beane | 0:24 |