Thanksgiving Challenge: Reach out to a Coach!

Thanksgiving Part 1

I had a plan for a Thanksgiving day blog post. However, my original plan went to hell in a handbasket when I woke up to a text this morning. The text was a thank you from a friend. It was so well-written and so appreciated I decided to offer some over-due thanks to those who profoundly positively impacted my life during 7 years called college. I know what you are thinking, most people who go to school for 7 years are called Doctor. I was just called Coach. But, I would not trade titles for even a second. To this day, perhaps no sound is sweeter than when former players and colleagues still call me coach. It's not because I want to be back in athletics (at least not at this point in my life). It is because of the respect I have for those who mentored me. It is because coaching is not something you do, but rather who you are. It is not so much a job or title as it is a way of life.

This is my humble attempt to say thank you and to motivate those of you who may read this to do the same for those who have coached you in your life.  The text or phone call from you means more than you know. Simply put, It is why coaches do what they do. They enjoy making a positive difference. So please get out your phone and call or text them TODAY and consider sharing on social media. Sometimes, a simple thank you from a player keeps a volunteer (or paid) great coach doing what they do and creates a positive ripple effect.

I am so thankful for key people who positively changed my life during my time at Central Methodist College and Northwest Missouri State University. (I split these into two separate posts) I will leave out more than a few but wanted to say thanks and share exactly how these key people changed my life for the better. 


Central Methodist:


Steve Phipps was my baseball coach in college, but it was my time with him in the classroom that allowed me to change the way I looked at myself academically. He made me think of myself as an intellectual. I wanted to do well in his classes in large part because I craved the positive feedback he gave me and I felt he expected it from me. My wanting to achieve excellence in his classes grew into more. He gave me the confidence to go from a kid who was an under-achiever in high school to a 3-time Academic All-American. Thanks, Coach!

Bill Sheehan changed my life when the Dean of Students decided not to throw me out of school for having a keg party in my room during my first semester on campus. Not only did he not throw me out, but for some strange reason, he gave me a job as a resident assistant about two semesters later. Then, he went on to select me for an additional academic scholarship. Next, he allowed me to live in the very-limited-supply of off-campus housing offered at CMC. All those things helped me come out of school debt-free but also helped me realize that a second chance can be a powerful opportunity. Thank you, Bill Sheehan

Jeff Sherman, thanks for giving my first-ever college coaching job (student assistant Men's basketball coach) and igniting a passion in me for marketing and entrepreneurialism. You always took an interest in my life even before I worked for you. You always seemed to have time to talk with me and offer advice. Thank you!

Mike Davis, Kevin Bucher and Darren Pannier (Women's basketball)thanks for allowing me an opportunity to recruit, coach and feel a part of something. You guys gave me responsibility, listened to my ideas and suggestions and allowed me the opportunity to grow. You invested time and effort into my development as a coach and made me feel like an important part of the team. There was no doubt I wanted to coach in college by the time I finished working with you three. Thanks so much!

Jim Ray Kluck gave me advice on how to get started in college coaching and so much more. Coach Kluck taught me how to see the best in others, how to genuinely engage in conversation with others in a way that built lasting relationships. Coach Kluck taught me how to genuinely care for others in the way he handled what some may consider benign every-day interactions. He was the first one who taught me the importance of looking out for the young coaches who came after you. Every stranger was a friend-in the-making. VP of Sales and Marketing or VP of Player Personnel, the titles and industry are different, but the jobs are the same. Many of the lessons learned for success in both were learned from Coach Kluck! Thanks for being both a friend and mentor Coach!

If Football Coaches Ruled the World

Ok, maybe not the world, but the older I get the more I realize many of the men coaching football are phenomenal leaders.  Business leaders would truly be a better if they spent a few days inside a football complex.  It would be worth its weight in leadership training gold!

Recently former NFL offensive lineman and current Mathematics PhD. Candidate John Urschel wrote an interesting piece for the New York Times.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/learning/do-we-need-a-better-way-to-teach-math.html?searchResultPosition=1

 In the Article Urschel explains why he wishes his math teachers would be more like his football coaches.  He feels his teachers could learn a lot from his coaches.

I feel the same way on a daily basis.  Business leaders could learn a lot from football coaches. Coaches are plain spoken.  Rarely, if ever does a football player not know exactly what he needs to do to get better.  It is made very clear on the field and in the meeting/film room.  These crystal clear expectations are part of the reason young men grow so much as players and people during their college football years.

The other big difference is that coaches invest the time and earn the trust necessary to be able to coach players hard and give such sincere and honest feedback.  Players can sense and feel how much their coaches want them to become better players and better people.  This genuine care allows coaches to push, pull and prod their players to reach heights they would not without the tough love of a great coach. 

Business leaders are you developing the trust you need to earn the right to give your teams crystal clear expectations and  honest feedback?  Or do you get uneasy feeling in your stomach when you need to give or address performance expectations? Consider the possibility that coaching your team hard may be your best-ever business strategy and the fastest way to increase your bottom line.  If you need some help consider heading out to a local football practice.  You might be surprised what you learn.

Leading Change: Who Will Be This Years' Surprise Football Team?

Every football season a few teams seem to come out of nowhere and exceed expectations.  But, leading change is hard work.  As I am typing this, 6 of 7 new NFL head coaches have lost their opening game.  John Gruden is the last hope (currently leading 10-7) in the Monday Night game. 

I have been fortunate to be on several teams where we dramatically increased the win total from the previous year.  When a new staff comes in building trust to enable change leadership is imperative.

In business, there are three likely options. 
1. You are in the midst of a major change.
2. You will soon be going through a major change.
3. Your business is dying. 

I recently compiled a few thoughts and some of the best books and podcasts on leading change for our team at work.  These are great resources and too good not share.  I am confident they can help you lead effective change for your business.

Leading Change- 5 keys to success

1.     Use the word improvement- Most people hate change, but love improvement.  This simple little change of words can be very powerful and impact the mindset of your team. (Chris Hogan) (entreleadership podcast) (time) 10 minutes https://www.entreleadership.com/blog/podcasts/chris-hogan-comfortable  (7:48 mark)

2. Make the individual the hero- Show them how the “improvement” can make their lives better. Do not sell what it can do for you, what it can do for the company etc. (hint: no one gives a shit) Make them the hero of the story (you should only be their guide). See the world through the lens of the people you are speaking to.  (Donald Miller) (entreleadership podcasts) (also link to his podcast and book)

https://www.entreleadership.com/blog/podcasts/donald-miller-branding-story

https://www.entreleadership.com/blog/podcasts/donald-miller-branding-story-part-2

https://www.amazon.com/Building-StoryBrand-Clarify-Message-Customers/dp/0718033329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1498750284&sr=8-1&keywords=building+a+story+brand

3. Use inside out communication- Inspire others to take action by changing the the way you communicate.  Learn what some of histories greatest speakers and the best companies have in common. (Simon Sinek) https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en

4. Connect with key influencers- Every team or business has a few people that exert a disproportionate amount of influence on their peers.  Great "influencers"  invest heavily in these key individuals to be able to sell the change they need. (This is only one example of hundreds of great takeaways in this fantastic book) 

https://www.amazon.com/Influencer-Science-Leading-Change-Second/dp/0071808868/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1535462019&sr=8-4&keywords=influencer

5. Convince your team that "here" is no longer an option- Never cast your vision for the future until you have delivered an air-tight case for why the way you are currently doing things is no longer an option (Bill Hybels- Here to There)

https://youtu.be/Jbba8DJO7MA

Creating a "Coachable Culture"

College football players improve so much over the four or five years they spend on campus.  They get coached hard on and off the field, in the classroom, weight room and even have large parts of their day recorded so they can be analyzed in slow motion.  A no-nothing 18 year old kid comes into a college and may play a position he has never played before and leave knowing every part of the offense or defense, while also picking up a degree in his chosen field of study.  One of the things I loved most about college coaching was literally watching boys grow to men. 

 

 How much have you improved at your job in the last 4-5 years?  How much input have you received from your boss?  How much coaching have you done with your reports?  How much feedback do you share?  How much accountability is there in your culture?  Does your organization embrace a culture of coaching?

 

The "civilian world", as I like to call it, could learn so much from football coaches when it comes to healthy conflict, (the ability to disagree and then commit) accountability and accepting feedback.  Just because you don't have the title of coach in front of your name does not mean you are not a coach.  If you have people who report to you, if you are a leader in your organization then you need to consider yourself a coach.  That is the most important job you have. 

 

You don't need a whistle, a clipboard or a title to make others better.  If you are needing help with how to get started having what could be difficult conversations with your team.  The link below is a brief presentation from an event last week.  Hope it helps you get started coaching your team! 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unvDswFL4XM&t=378s

You can't run the wishbone...

There is so much advice free out there today.  Articles, podcasts, books, conferences-I love it!  In today's world, it feels like you can get an MBA for free with the wealth of information available online.  It is so easy to get so much information.   But, this can lead to a new set of problems.

It struck me recently while working with some of our aspiring leaders that the ability to interpret which information and decide which pieces of content best fit your business and personal growth strategy greatly impacts the chances of both individual and team success.

In other words, you can't run the wishbone with a drop back Quarterback.  Understanding what applies to you and your business, passing on ideas that don't fit your culture and being able to say no to some concepts to say yes in a bigger way to other concepts is more important than ever.

Make sure you understand your team and your cultural identity.  Be self-aware of your own tendencies, strengths, and weaknesses.  Put together a game plan that fits your people and doesn't ask your team members to do things that will never fit your culture or team. 

Knowing your identity and who/what/when to listen to all the free advice may be the most important piece of advice.

The Jackass Factor

Use this equation to measure the impact of an individual's attitude on your entire team.

 (Talent + Intellect) x (Leadership) x (Attitude) =

First, the backstory:

When searching for a winning formula, football coaches know the sum of the parts does not equal the whole.  In other words, 2 + 2 does not equal 4.  Creating a winning formula is much more difficult than just assembling talented individual pieces.  The most talented team does not always win the game.  Why?

Recently, we had a leadership training event at Kinzler Construction Services (my team).   The theme of the training was accountability.  We have several team members who were new to leadership roles.  I spent time thinking about how to best explain the impact of an individual team members' attitude on the entire team. 

I asked our leaders to think about a few key members of their teams and rate them on a 1-10 scale as we worked through an exercise.  To see a portion of that video click below.

 (Talent + Intellect) x (Leadership) x (Attitude) =

Next, a few questions:

I asked our team, is it possible that any of our team members have less than zero talent?  What about intellect? How about leadership?  They quickly agreed every team member rated higher than zero in all these areas.  

 But what about attitude?  Is it possible to have a negative attitude?  The answer, of course, was a resounding YES! 

What is the impact to the equation if we use a scale of negative 10 to positive 10 to rank attitude?  We all agree an attitude can be negative, correct?  They quickly agreed it was logical to use a negative number measure the impact of attitude.

Now, the mathematical facts:

Any positive number multiplied by a positive number results in a positive number.  Any positive number multiplied by a negative number results in a negative number.

Any member of our team that has a positive attitude produces a positive result or what I refer to as a Net Contribution (NC).

Any member of our team that has a negative attitude produces a negative result, or what I refer to as a Jackass Factor (JF).

(T + I) x (L) x (A) = NC or JF

Finally, the call to action:

People who combine high Talent and Intellect  with a negative Attitude produce a Jackass Factor.  Even worse is the cancerous impact of someone with high Leadership ability and a negative attitude.  The absolute worst is the person who is talented, smart and a great leader with a negative attitude.  Do the math!  These are the most dangerous people on your team.  The larger the Jackass Factor the greater the risk to your team health.

This is a very common leadership mistake.  Too often leaders think they "need" people with talent, intellect or leadership abilities, ignoring or tolerating a negative attitude.  Instead, they choose to spend their time and energy "fixing" people with low talent, intellect or leadership abilities.  After all, these options are easier then dealing with the 300 pound gorilla that is a negative attitude, but they won't produce optimal results.

As the leader, take a long hard look at your team.  Then, chart the accountability path for turning your people with Jackass Factors into Net Contributors, or get them out of your locker room.  Not, when you can "afford to" or when you hit your next sales goal, get rid of them tomorrow!

In football we say, "you are either coaching it; or allowing  it to happen."  If you have people with a negative attitude are you coaching it or allowing it to happen?  Is it time for you to step up and lead?  Or will you continue to allow people with Jackass Factors to erode your culture?  

Saban Wins Either Way

Saban Wins Either Way

Tuesday, January 03, 2017

7:48 PM

Business leaders listen up. Nick Saban is passing out free leadership training. When Nick Saban sent Lane Kiffin down the road ( I don't buy this mutual crap for a second) he put himself in the ultimate win-win situation.

If Alabama wins Saban wins in the short term and the long term.  If Alabama loses Saban wins in the long run and Lane Kiffin is on the hook for being a distraction.

Here is where Saban really wins.  The story about the time Saban sent the OC packing right before the "Natty" will be told for years in the Alabama locker room.  5 star recruits still in middle school will be impacted by this decision.  How do you get 5-star guys to buy into "the process"?  You make decisions by doing what you think is right, not what is popular.  The "process" Saban preaches about is clearly bigger than any one person.  A message Alabama players will remember for years to come no matter how many stars they had when they came to campus.

Business Leaders, think about your decisions and what you are telling the players in your "locker room".  The larger the spotlight, the greater the opportunity to prove to your team that you are willing to practice what you preach.