As the Super Bowl approaches, examining the careers of Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll is a good exercise to find career lessons that apply to all of us.  Rather than focus on just their current roles - for which they are well known - let's take a longer term look at how they both ended up coaching in Super Bowl XLIX.

Part 1 presents lessons to learn from Coach Belichick and Part 2 covers Coach Carroll's career.

  You'll notice certain similarities in their stories, I'm sure.

• To Become a Success Quickly Takes a Long Time  In 2015 Bill Belichick is known to even the most casual observer of the National Football League.  But that was not always the case.  Did you know that Belichick was an NFL assistant coach for 16 years (1975-1991)?  In your own career are you patient?  Do you have realistic expectations about how long it will take to rise the position you are aiming for?
• If at First You Don't Succeed, Try Again  In 1991 Belichick was hired as head coach of the Cleveland Browns.  He lasted five seasons, while compiling a record of 36-44 with just one playoff appearance and sporting a losing record in four of his five seasons at the helm.  So after toiling as an assistant coach for a decade and a half, Belichick's first stint as a head coach was not very successful - and certainly did not portend a Hall of Fame caliber coach.  In your career you are bound to have setbacks.  Will you be able to swallow your pride and learn from those experiences and ultimately persevere to reach greater heights in your career?

• Have a Mentor  Belichick worked for the legendary Bill Parcells with the New York Giants (1983-1990) and again with the Patriots (1996-1997) and the New York Jets (1997-1999).  The benefits of having a mentor are numerous. But Belichick's story highlights two of those reasons.  First, as the mentor is successful, it can create opportunities for the protege.  Second, if the protege experiences a professional failure, the mentor may provide a position that will allow the protege to rehabilitate their professional image.  Reuniting with Parcells after the failure in Cleveland allowed Belichick to reestablish his credentials, leading to his hiring by the Patriots in 2000. 
• Become a Mentor  Coaching is a profession that lends itself to the mentoring process.  Coaches that work together are often connected by fans and media using the term "coaching tree".  This chart gives examples of the coaching trees of Bill Walsh, Marty Schottenheimer and Bill Parcells.  In other industries and positions the linkages may not be as clear cut, but benefits of mentoring others continue to accrue.  In your own career are you taking the time to coach your employees by probing to discover what they REALLY want to do in the future?  Or is all your coaching specific to their current roles?  Systematically helping others achieve their career goals will make you a better leader and impact how you are perceived now and your legacy in business.

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Thanks for reading this article.  If you enjoyed learning career lessons by finding out more about Coach Belichick's career, check out earlier articles on the careers of coaches like Jim Harbaugh, Bruce Bochy, Steve Kerr and  Mark Helfrich.  Their stories will provide you even more lessons!