IT Management Slideshow: CIO Fantasy League: 11 Coaches Who'd Be Great IT Leaders

Outstanding coaches get the best results most often because of the work they do when the games aren't being played. The secret may be in studying the competition better than anyone else. Or, it could be that a top coach can innovate at a sport's highest level. All elite-level team leaders seem to "get it" when it comes knowing how to encourage team members to discover and utilize strengths they didn't even know they had. Sound familiar? Yes, many of the very best qualities of great coaches translate directly to what's needed from top CIOs. To illustrate the point, CIO Insight collaborated with two experts to come up with this list to all-time great coaches who'd likely make great CIOs. Our experts are Chris Spivey, who provides leadership consulting for corporate tech departments and executives; and Damian Vaughn, a former NFL player who now leads workshops on cognitive development for CIOs and other C-level business leaders. Here are their picks for "top CIO coaching candidates," as well as quote-able words of wisdom from these sports legends: