How the Broncos Won (allegedly when the coach lightened up)

The power of honest reflection

In recent weeks, Queensland’s gone full tilt maroon. The Lions, the women’s Broncos, and finally, the men’s team bringing home their first NRL premiership in 19 years.

At our place, every TV was tuned in. There was yelling, laughing, and a little crying.

Beneath the cheering and the partying was a quieter story worth every leader’s attention.

Around mid-season, when the Broncos were sliding down the ladder and morale was low, senior players are said to have called a meeting with coach Michael Maguire.

It was reported in the Courier Mail that they didn’t complain about the training load. They spoke about his intensity, the endless analysis, long hours, and unrelenting drive.

Apparently, Maguire listened, changed, and dialled down the grind to create space for the team to breathe.

Watching the after-game coverage, the connection between him and his players was unmistakable, the hugs, the quiet words of encouragement, the warmth in the eyes of a team that knew their coach believed in them.

The hidden cost of unchecked intensity

When the pressure is on, it is easy for leadership to slip into overdrive. The intent is good, to keep standards high, to show commitment, to pull everyone through.

But when that intensity goes unchecked, it takes a toll. Conversations dry up and people stop thinking for themselves.

If the Courier Mail story is true, Maguire’s shift is a masterclass in leadership maturity. It takes courage to hear feedback you do not want to hear, to realise your own style might be getting in the way, and to make the choice to change.

When leaders lighten up, it is not about lowering expectations. It is about creating the conditions where people can breathe, think, and bring their best selves to the work.

It is about shifting from force to flow, knowing when to step back so others can step up.

This is the hard part of leading in complex contexts. When results slip or the stakes rise, our instinct is to tighten our grip.

Yet the most effective leaders do the opposite. They tune in, listen deeply, and adapt. They make space to notice what is going on within and around them before deciding on the best way forward.

That is what I suspect we saw on Grand Final night, a team grounded and connected, the product of a leader who had the humility to listen, reflect, and create the space his players needed to perform.

As Susan David explains in Emotional Agility: Get Untuck, Embrace Change and Thrive in Work and Life, emotionally agile leaders do not suppress what is inside them, they notice, pause, and choose how to respond in alignment with their values and purpose.

What looks like lightening up from the outside is often the hardest work of all, requiring awareness, restraint, and the courage to choose differently.

Bill George, in Discover Your True North, captures a simple truth that separates good leaders from great ones:

Teams under pressure can feel like they are running out of air. When a leader lightens up, it is like opening a window. Oxygen rushes back in, and with it comes energy, perspective, and the space to think clearly again.

The superpower that turns reaction into response

Every leader knows that moment when the air starts to get thin, when you are working harder, talking faster, and wondering why others do not seem to get what is needed.

That is when it is time to open a window.

Notice what is really going on for you, the frustration rising, the quick reactions, the urge to jump in and take over.

Those are not flaws, they are signals. They are telling you it is time to pause, to create a bit of space, and to let some oxygen back in. It is what lets you see the situation as it is, not as your stress is painting it.

And in that space, curiosity becomes your superpower, tuning in to what your team is really telling you before deciding what needs to happen next.

From there, you can choose how to respond, not just react.

Outcomes like the Broncos bringing the trophy home after 19 years do not happen by accident. They are the product of a leader who found enough space to adjust, to trust, and to create the conditions for success.

Your job is not to control the outcome. It is to create the conditions where the outcome can be achieved, where others can think, act, and rise to the moment with you.

Where could you create more oxygen for your team this week?

And what difference would it make if you did?