At our firm’s annual CPE Day, GYF was honored to welcome Kevin Colbert, retired General Manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers, to share his insights on leadership. Kevin opened the discussion by offering some details about his background and career path that led him to be a successful general manager of an NFL team.
Kevin grew up on the North Side of Pittsburgh and graduated from North Catholic High School. He started his college education at CCAC before transferring to Robert Morris College (now University). During his senior year at Robert Morris, he worked as a sports information director and was tasked to travel with the college basketball team during their season. When Matt Furjanic, who was the assistant coach during Kevin’s first year as sports director, was offered the head coach position, Kevin transitioned into a graduate assistant basketball coach. He served in that role for two years before becoming the head coach for one year.
Kevin’s sports career moved to Ohio Wesleyan University, where he was the head coach for the baseball team a well as serving as an assistant football coach. After two years, Kevin moved into professional football, accepting a position as a college scout for the Miami Dolphins. He held this role for five years before becoming the professional scouting director for the Detroit Lions for 10 years. In 2000, Kevin was hired by the Pittsburgh Steelers as the director of football operations and spent more than two decades with the organization, serving as general manager and vice president.
Following his retirement in 2022, Kevin remained connected with the Steelers as the head of the “Lend a Hand” organization, which assists alumni in transitioning into a “new normal” after their football careers end. The group meets virtually once a month, and professionals will present on a topic intended to help the players move on from the world of professional football. Kevin also started the Colbert Sports Consulting Group, which has recently been focused on helping colleges who have reached out to Kevin for guidance on adopting the salary cap in 2025.
After reviewing his career, Kevin shifted to speaking about how he could apply his experience to help attendees to become better accounting professionals and administrators.
“Don’t go where the puck is, go where it’s going to be.”
Quoting hockey great, Wayne Gretzky, Kevin noted that organizations tend to focus on top-down approach when we should really be looking bottom-up. He highlighted the importance of focusing on the future and recognizing potential within our organizations, reflecting on lessons learned from scouting and developed talent throughout his career.
Kevin also noted that it is common for people to focus on their professional success while ignoring their personal selves. He highlighted the importance of focusing on faith and family. Kevin knows that we all can’t be lumped together in a single category; however, he thinks that where we come from is an important part of who we are and shapes who we can be.
Kevin also recognized the challenge of mental health issues, but is encouraged that people seem to be more open to accepting help. He believes that there is not necessarily an increase in mental health problems in recent years, but rather a greater willingness to recognize and address them. He likened this trend to the spike in concussions being reported within the NFL. He said that it is a positive development that both of these issues are being brought to the surface as more people are acknowledging problems as they arise and seeking the help they need. Kevin emphasized that it is important to take care of our mental and physical health because when we focus on ourselves, we will be better at what we do.
“The standard is the standard”
Kevin quoted Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, as he turned his remarks toward striving for success. He noted that, in order to define success in an organization, standards must be set, for both individuals and governing bodies. We may not always agree with the standards that are set, but we should always strive to do what is best for our organizations.
Kevin warned that it is common to face failures on the way to achieving success. He noted as teams in the NFL work their way through many failures, they move forward to the chance to win in the next game. In the accounting world, he noted there is little margin for error, and mistakes likely have greater consequences than lost games. In any case, Kevin noted that we will all face challenges and we must be prepared to weather the storms and trust that we are strong enough to persevere through tough times.
He strongly believes that past failures are the reason why we succeed and continue to succeed an said that he has learned a lot from experiencing personal and professional losses. He talked about NFL playoff and championship losses with several teams he worked for, and noted that two memorable Steelers AFC championship game losses (in 2001 and 2004) resulted in lost opportunities to go to the Super Bowl. Kevin said that these failures served as a catalyst to the team’s motivation to win the title in 2005. After starting out 7-2 in the ’05 season, they lost two games in a row and were at risk of elimination. Coach Tomlin did not focus on the negative performances, but challenged the team to assess themselves and think of how they would be better moving forward. The players accepted Coach Tomlin’s challenge, and the Steelers did not lose another game that season, becoming the first six-seed to win the Super Bowl championship.
“The red carpet can be very slippery”
Kevin used another quote from Coach Tomlin to lead into the potential dangers of continued success. He noted talent and technique are important, but emphasized that organizations also need to prioritize intangibles. With the technology we have today, there is unlimited amount of tangible information to analyze, but Kevin said that it is also very important to consider who can make a critical decision during crunch time. He noted that he has made mistakes in the past when he has misjudged “hearts and smarts.”
During the drafting process, Kevin said he would try to evaluate whether the athletes would be devastated, satisfied or relieved if their playing days would come to an end. If they would be devastated, he said, it’s a sign that they truly love the sport and value their careers. He cautioned that those who would be relieved probably don’t fully have their hearts in the game and are not the people you want to rely on. He suggested that this logic can be applied when hiring personnel to be part of our organizations.
To put together a successful team, you want a group of individuals who are truly passionate and dedicated to their careers and to being the best they can be. He emphasized that everyone in the group should have a single shared goal, and that there is no place for hidden agendas or selfish ambitions. He advised leaders to be “demanding, but not demeaning” when working with a team to reach these goals.
“When you got red paint, paint the barn red”
Finally, Kevin quoted Don Shula, Hall of Fame Coach of the Miami Dolphins, to talk about the importance of understanding the personalities of your team and working with the talent you have. He stressed that all good leaders should know their people, know their strengths and what they are capable of. Kevin also repeated Dan Rooney’s advice to always to do what’s right before wrapping up his presentation and opening the floor for questions and discussion.
Click here to access copies of the slides, links to resources and a video of the presentation
About Kevin Colbert: A Pittsburgh native, Kevin is a graduate of North Catholic High School and Robert Morris University. He has over 40 years of experience with the NFL, as well as previous experience in college coaching and public relations. In 2022, after serving for 22 years as General Manager, Kevin took on a new advisory role for the Pittsburgh Steelers, working to help alumni transition into life after football through the team’s “Lend A Hand” program. He is also the head of Colbert Sports Consulting.
About GYF’s CPE Day: The firm presents this program each year to bring together clients, friends of the firm, and other professionals who are interested in gaining knowledge. The day is always filled with interesting presentations and great networking opportunities, and is generally attended by 300+ guests. If you have any questions about the material covered, or other issues we did not have time to address, please reach out to your GYF Executive or contact the office at 412-338-9300. We look forward to seeing everyone next year!
