The world championship of professional football occurs around this time each year.

The two head coaches in this year&8217;s game, Tony Dungy of Indianapolis and Lovie Smith of Chicago, both approach their jobs differently than the traditional way we think about football coaches. Neither is a yeller or a screamer.

Dungy and Smith are both considered coaches who can sell their vision for success. Both possess the ability to stay focused on the most important things that give their teams the best opportunity for success.

Both are experts at mentoring others and they constantly challenge their players to perform at higher levels while holding them accountable for their performance. Both men are known for being straightforward, honest and ethical.

After reading several articles about how Dungy and Smith approach coaching in professional football, I began thinking about what the behavior that we witness from our leaders in the business world. Most of us do not have to think hard to remember a leader who routinely yelled and screamed at employees.

Effective leaders never resort to such negative behavior. Isn&8217;t it interesting to contemplate that Smith and Dungy have reached the pinnacle of their profession without exhibiting this type of behavior in an industry where screaming and yelling from the boss is actually considered &8220;normal behavior&8221;?

Dungy and Smith have build championship teams in large part because of their ability to mentor and develop their players. If you listen to the players from either team talking about their head coach, their respect and admiration for each man comes across strongly. And yet, both men will not hesitate to challenge a player to improve and do better.

By the time this article is published, the big game will have been played. Even though only one team will win, I submit that Smith and Dungy are both big winners.

Both have honed their leadership skills to a high level and have each achieved great success in their career. And yet both have done it in such a manner that all of us who aspire to become great leaders can admire, and learn from.