Leadership Trends and Realities

Coach Talk: Run the Good Race!

Bob Craig

I was talking to one of the moms at school the other day. She’s a runner, a serious one, a marathon runner. I asked her if she had ever hit the proverbial “wall” when she was running. Her answer reminded me of what we do in leading. She said, “You know, I‘ve never hit ‘the wall.’ First of all,  I really prepare for the races I run. That means that I eat all the right things and really hydrate my body before I ever begin and then along the way. And then, you know, I just run for fun. I like it.” There was a lot of stuff in that answer, huh? First of all you have to be prepared for this job of leading people. You have to know your people, know your numbers, and know where you want to go. And you have to know that stuff before your shift begins with your team. And then as the day goes on, you have to be staying on top of those same things. And then maybe the biggest one is that you ought to be having fun. You know lots of people who hate their job or some part of it. Don’t be that kind of person. I tell my team and my best friends, when I stop having fun every day, it is time for me to stop and do something else. You notice the “Have fun” I put on the end of these messages sometimes. I’m serious! Especially today, Have Fun!

Coach Talk: Tell 'em What You Want

Posted by: Bob Craig

This whole telling people what to do and what not do does not get better with age apparently. Every parent has to learn this the hard way for some reason. We all say “Don’t drop the cake” as we hand it to a 7-year-old to walk out to the picnic table, and yep, they apparently hear “Drop the Cake.” Really... I’m not joking. I have five kids... I’ve done my own research. I learned after # 2 to say exactly what I wanted. “Hold on to the cake.” And guess what? They heard “Hold on to the Cake” and no more accidents. When you say “Don’t” to any adult, you get the same phenomenon. Tell people what you want. Frame it the right way and you’ll be good. Today count how many times you say don’t and turn those statements around. Your success depends on it. Your success also depends on how well you engage your team. 

Coach Talk: I'm done with role plays...I'm taking up practice...

Bob Craig

I got to laughing this morning thinking of John Madden during any coaching session saying to one of his players, “OK, let’s role play this: I’ll be the defensive tackle and you be the offensive tackle.” Wouldn’t that be funny? His players would have looked at him just like yours do when you say “Let’s role play this...” Instead he said, “Okay, now let’s practice this...” and away they went. I think as a coach and as players, we hate role plays, and so we don’t do them... but we’re open to practicing things. In fact it’s really what we expect. And then you have to remember the words of another top coach, John Wooden, who said “Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect.” So let’s change the way we deal with all of this and “practice” the behaviors right in the middle of the coaching, right in the middle of the game when you pull them off on the sidelines. When John could change the behavior right in the game so they could be successful, he was a winner along with the team. You’ might be good at spotting the problem, but too often you don’t practice the behavior you want. Let’s win the game today.  

 

Coach Talk: Three Little Pigs

Bob Craig

The three little pigs were running teams and their story is an interesting one:

• The first little pig built his framework out of straw. He began his day with a flimsy outline on a sticky note of how the day was supposed to go. When his manager asked him if he was ready for the day, he said he hoped so and he was going to try to follow his plan. Well, needless to say, when the day huffed and puffed, it blew his house down. His makeshift plan was totally blown away. So he sat down at his desk and his team found him slightly dazed working on Outlook for the rest of the day! 
• The second little pig built his framework out of everything in the book: power sessions, coaching, side by sides, Outlook, and coaching logs. The sticks were all there and then some. And he was looking good with his crammed laminated checklist framework until the day huffed and puffed and gave him three supervisor calls and an unexpected meeting. His day came tumbling down because when he tried to recover, he had so many things crammed into his checklist framework that he had no clue what the important things were. His team found him sitting at his desk trying to figure out what happened. 
• The third little pig built his framework with the most important things first on his plan, and he held it all together with the focus for the day with his team. When the day huffed and puffed with some incredible demands, meetings and unexpected calls, he never lost the focus that held it all together. His team accomplished everything they needed to in order to be successful. He spent the time he had with a clear focus for the team and each one on it.  

Which framework do you have established for your day? If you have a clear focus, nothing can get in your way no matter what the day brings you. Start the focus with your team with a session designed to make them clear about what they need to do to be successful.