In today’s paper, I took a look at the book “Talent is Never Enough,” somewhat of a self-help book by leadership guru John Maxwell. Cal coach Jeff Tedford read the book after the season and thought it really related to what the Bears went through last season.

For the story, I talked to center Alex Mack and linebacker Zack Follett, two players expected to be team leaders this year. Mack said he especially appreciated the chapters on practice and belief.

“You have to believe to get things done,” Mack said. “You have to know what your goals are and what it takes to attain them, then believe in the system. And practice, it seems so obvious, but there’s a difference between practicing and practicing right.”

Tedford had each of his coaches teach one chapter. Coaches used powerpoint presentations in settings players aren’t used to — that is, an assistant coach speaking to the entire team. Usually, meetings are broken down by position, so it’s rare for an offensive lineman like Mack to receive instruction from linebackers coach Kenwick Thompson, for instance.

Tedford said simple things like that — opening up the communication between players and coaches that normally wouldn’t interact — is beneficial to team chemistry. The players agreed.

“I think it was a good thing because it made sure that everyone is on the same page,” Mack said. “I’m not going to see the DB coach very much, other than to say ‘hi.’ You get to see who the person is, and that we’re all on the same level.”

Follett said the lessons became a competition between coaches. ”It became, ‘who could have the better performance’” Follett said. “They’d put their own spin on it, use personal experiences or movies that relate to the topic. It worked well.”

Follett said his favorite chapter in the book was the one on passion.

“I think that’s what we need more of,” he said. “Last year, there was a lack of passion. Me, Thomas (DeCoud) and Greg Van Hoesen were some of the only guys playing with passion. This is what we love to do. We have to put more passion into it.”

Follett, who hasn’t been shy about the fact that he wants to be regarded as a team leader this season, said the team is still working on leadership in the offseason. He said the team is “definitely on the right track,” adding that fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou has emerged as a leader.