13 Dec

The Wisdom of Inserting “Fun” Into Your Organization

A friend recently told me about a survey taken by senior citizens. They were asked about the most important things in their lives and their order of importance.

The first priority on the list was no surprise: It was health.

remembertohavefunThe second concept made me think as I did not expect it. It was FUN. Upon reflection, it made a great deal of sense because seniors do not know how much time they have left. So, whatever time remains, why not enjoy it?

I believe the second characteristic is something for leaders to consider. Many athletic coaches have picked up on this concept. They do add some fun into their practices, especially at the end of practice. We often ended a practice with a shooting drill we learned from a great coach, the late Rick Majerus. We pitted the big men against the perimeter players in the drill. After making five baskets at each end of the floor, the teams came to midcourt and the winning team had to score on a half-court shot. Balls would be flying all over the gym and the players would be wildly cheering for their team. This fun drill ended the practice on a high note.

Leaders and coaches have to be demanding, or nothing will be accomplished. However, work and practices can become long and tedious. Interspersing some fun into them can pick up the spirit of those whom we are leading.

The elderly continue to teach us.

06 Dec

Character defined by what we do when no one is watching

Chris Carter, the NFL Hall of Fame receiver, made this point on the Mike and Mike Show recently. In short, he told young athletes that success in your career will be determined by what you do when nobody’s looking.

studying2I was privileged to coach some outstanding athletes in my forty-four years of coaching basketball at the high school and collegiate levels. I never played with nor coached great athletes who weren’t great workers on their own time. They all practiced hard, but they took their game way beyond the practice court. Their off-season was spent working on their game!

Great leaders are men and women of character. The best definition I have heard of character is that it is who you are when no one is looking.

In recent years we have unfortunately had too many leaders who said all the right things in public. They presented themselves as men of character when the camera was rolling and often spoke to the importance of character in leadership roles. But in their private lives, they did not walk the talk.

Saint Francis of Assisi may have best summed up character in the fourteenth century when he wrote, “It’s no use walking anywhere to preach unless your walking is your preaching.”

I think it is sound policy for leaders to examine who they are when the cameras are off, when no one is looking.

01 Dec

Appreciating the “Thank You”

With our inaugural newsletter arriving just after Thanksgiving, I would like to share four thoughts with you on two of the most important words that leaders should consider incorporating in their vocabulary – Thank-You. These two words carry a lot of meaning both for the giver and the recipient.

 

powerofthankyou

 
First, we all appreciate being thanked. We don’t do things for others to be thanked, but we do appreciate the Thank-You when it comes our way.

 

I spent forty-four years coaching and teaching at the high school and collegiate levels. As the years went on, I was fortunate to receive a number of Thank-You notes form former players and students. I was so moved by them that I named a drawer in my dresser my “Keeper’s Drawer.” This was the drawer where I put these notes. I have yet to take the time to relax and read through them, but I certainly plan to do so. Therefore, I know first-hand that Thank-You notes are appreciated by the recipients.

 

Secondly, I played in college for a coach named Gordie Gillespie. He was and is an extraordinary coach and man. He has been inducted into seventeen Halls of Fame and is the winningest coach in the history of collegiate baseball. No one I have ever known has written more congratulatory or Thank-You notes than Gordie. I recently had lunch with our former college president and the former executive director of our park district. When Gordie’s name came up in our conversation, both men referenced a Thank-You note they had received from him. These two men received tons of correspondence in their working years, but they remembered with great appreciation the note from Gord.

With email becoming so prevalent in today’s society, leaders may consider using the hand-written note more to thank their constituents. We know a Thank-You is appreciated and the hand-written note can make the Thank-You more personal. Something to consider.

 

Thirdly, the German philosopher, Meister Eckhart wrote something that succinctly covers Thank-You when he wrote, “If the only prayer you ever say is ‘thank you,’ it will be enough.” Especially in our country, we have so much to be thankful for. My good friend and fellow coach, Jack Hermanski, has a great perspective on this. He has fought MS for the past seventeen years, but consistently reiterates, “I look around and see so many people who have it so much worse than me.” Despite his plight in life, he remains thankful for what he has. “Thank-You” may very well be our greatest prayer.

 

Finally, years ago I heard an historian say, “You know who built this country? The top politicians did not nor did those of wealth. The ‘nobodies’ built America. The everyday working man whose work often goes unnoticed and unappreciated built this country.” So, leaders may want to consider thanking those in their organization who are rarely thanked. Thanking the nobodies could become an important part of your leadership value system.

 

Thanksgiving could have leaders reflect on how much Thank-You notes are appreciated; the value of the hand-written note; the prayer, “Thank-You;” and thanking the nobodies.

 

 

19 Nov

Emotional Control Key to Becoming “Ultimate Influencer”

In his superb book, Adversaries into Allies, Bob Burg writes, “In the process of becoming an Ultimate Influencer, controlling your emotions comes before every step, every time.”

Book jacket - Adversaries Into AlliesHaving coached basketball for forty-four years, I can certainly relate to the above statement.

It took a game in North Dakota for me to realize how your emotions can adversely affect your judgment. I got so angry at the officials in the second half of a championship game that I had no productive instructions for my team for the final twelve minutes of the game. I allowed my emotions to take me right out of the game.

As I matured as a coach, I came to believe that the coach-referee relationship was not an adversarial relationship. Officials want to make the correct call and that is all we can hope for as coaches – the right call.

I won’t say that I turned referees into allies, but I certainly came to have a better relationship with them when I learned to control my emotions. An official validated this when he told me, “We do listen to you during games because you say so little to us during the course of the game.” I simply said what I had to say to the refs, then went immediately back to my coaching. I could not coach and ref at the same time!

Leaders are coaches. When coaches control their emotions, they are better coaches.

Bob Burg teaches us a very valuable lesson when he emphasizes that in difficult situations our first step, every time, should be to control our emotions.

12 Nov

Balancing respect, humor

The big news from the athletic world this week came from the NFL. We had one player – Martin – accuse another player – Incognito – of bullying him. Because of the bullying, Martin left the Miami Dolphins team.

Since the initial accusation, more information has surfaced, so we don’t know what really happened. Only the two athletes and possibly some teammates know what occurred.humor-respect-balance2

If it were just hazing, I don’t think there is any doubt that hazing can advance to bullying. Bullying is never acceptable in any way, in any venue! In our forty-four years of coaching, we allowed no hazing.

I don’t believe most leaders encounter hazing and bullying in their organizations. But they do deal with humor, and just as hazing can lead to bullying, humor can lead to hurt.

Leaders have to use their words and their humor carefully. What the leader may think is humorous has the potential to cause hurt in the recipient and affect the entire organization negatively.

I once worked with a leader who would use what he thought was humorous toward one of his subordinates. We all liked and respected the man he singled out fairly regularly and lost respect for the leader. What he thought was funny, we thought was ignorant.

As coaches and as leaders we do want to see some levity on our teams. Striking the right balance between levity and seriousness is a healthy thing for organizations. However, we always have to be careful that the humor never crosses the line resulting in something hurtful. Respect cannot be compromised.

01 Nov

Embrace challenges, recall the fundamentals

The fundamentals are the keys to athletics.

image fundamentalsBalance, footwork, passing, dribbling, and shooting are the fundamentals taught in the play of basketball.

It makes no difference what offense you run – motion, dribble drive, read and react, or set plays. It makes no difference what defense you run – man-to-man, zone, or match-up. If your players are not solid in the fundamentals, the basics, they are not going to be successful.

Coaches are constantly looking for that magic offense or defense. Eventually, they realize there is no one magic offense or defense. If there were, everyone would be running it.

Your team’s success goes right back to the fundamentals.

When your basketball team is struggling and you, as the coach, are not sure what to do, you often decide to go back to the basics in your practices.

One of our former players, now in corporate real estate sales, recently told me about a difficult situation. He was having a bad year and troubled about how to get things turned around. Recalling his years with our collegiate basketball program, he thought about the fundamentals and how we used to revisit the fundamentals when things went awry.

He went back to cold calling and all the basics of selling and finished with a great year.

Athletics and business coaching, teaching, and learning do go hand-in-hand. Often, the challenges we face in any of these arenas can be successfully navigated by remembering the simple things: the fundamentals.

25 Oct

Leadership, perseverance, after the storm

“Birds sing after a storm…” (Rose Kennedy)

leadership after the stormIf anyone had storms in his or her life, it was Rose Kennedy. The above was the quote that she used to get through all the tragedies that happened to her children.

This was a quote a priest used in his homily one Sunday at Mass. He had been accused of pedophilia, only to be exonerated some months later. When asked how he endured the incredibly difficult months that followed the accusation, he said he daily reiterated Rose Kennedy’s maxim.

There is a lot of adversity out there and none of us is exempt, most especially those in leadership positions. Certainly, one of the worst things a leader has to deal with is a false accusation.

There are three ways leaders can work through these accusations that attack their character. First, they can remind themselves that regardless of what others may say, they know the truth. They know what they did and what they did not do. So, let others say what they will, they know it is simply not true.

Second, rely on your close friends. They do stay with you through thick and thin and it is okay to lean on them. You do not always have to be the strongest person in the room.

Third, Rose Kennedy’s thought on storms can be very beneficial. The storms do end and the birds do sing. It can be a most difficult ride, but its intensity will end or, at the very least, dissipate. It is critical for the leader to remind himself or herself that better times are ahead.

15 Oct

Powerful Presentations by Leaders Employ the 5 P’s

“Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.”

Image of Dr-Arvid-Johnson USF

Dr. Arvid Johnson was inaugurated as the ninth president of the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois on October 4th, 2013.

Whenever leaders are asked to speak on behalf of the organization they lead, it is of paramount importance that they take quality time to prepare. Many leaders do not take the time to properly prepare and too often speak off-the-cuff.

Every time a leader speaks, he or she has the opportunity to make a good impression for their organization. They are not speaking for themselves; they are speaking and representing their organization.

Every speech is important, but inaugural speeches are especially important because they ingrain that critical first impression.

Dr. Arvid Johnson was inaugurated as the ninth president of the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois on October 4th, 2013. His presentation was outstanding in every way – content, humor, humility, and delivery. It was obvious that he adhered to the Five P’s. His presentation was both thorough and meticulous.

The theme of his presentation and his presidency is “Called to Serve; Called to Lead.” He made it very clear that he knows what a servant-leader is and that this style of leadership will be the trademark of his presidency.

Everyone in the audience left believing that St. Francis’ future is in good hands. Dr. Johnson’s preparation paid great dividends for the University he will be leading.

 

07 Oct

Why Coaches Coach: Leadership Insights from the Athletic Arena

Leaders may gain a valuable insight from athletic coaches.

Coaching and leadership imageMost people have some background at some level in sport. Because they often have this past, they can be very vocal as they see your teams play. And their opinions often reference just how dumb a coach you are!

If you coach, it is a given that you will have your critics.

When you are having a losing season, the profession is no walk-in-the-park. The crowds at games, the radio, the newspaper, and the television are constant reminders that times are tough and that you are the leader.

Given the above, even though you may not recognize it during the difficult times, you do realize at the end of your career why you coached. It is all about relationships. It is about the players who become your friends – cherished friends. You develop an incredibly strong bond with your players and you come to believe just how privileged you were to have coached them.

The literature seems to reflect that today’s leaders neither direct nor manage their people; instead, they coach them.

If leaders realized that they are coaches and took the above lesson from athletic coaches, it could really impact their leadership decision-making in such a positive way.

You coach for the long-haul – for the relationships and the friendships that you build for a lifetime.

30 Sep

2 Quarterbacks, 2 Leadership Styles

Wes Welker had an interesting interview on ESPN.

Welker, one of the NFL’s top wide receivers in recent years, has been in the spotlight a bit lately because of the terrific start by his new team, the Denver Broncos.

Leadership style (Brady-Manning)During the interview I saw, he had three insights into leadership – one on his career and two from two prolific quarterbacks he has caught passes from. He has the distinct perspective of being a receiver for two of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history – Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

His first insight was on his career. As an undrafted rookie free agent in 2004 (and cut by the San Diego Chargers after one game), it wasn’t until his fourth season in the league that he got the opportunity to start. The ESPN interviewer asked him how he became such a force in the NFL when he was not even drafted coming out of Texas Tech. His answer was he only got into the NFL because of special teams and because of his attitude.

He was always determined to be the toughest player on the field. Despite his very small physical stature compared to other NFL players, he could compete because of his toughness.

Leadership is tough and leaders have to develop tough-mindedness because they will inevitably have numerous critics.

When asked to compare Brady and Manning, he said each leads with different leadership traits. Brady, he said, is a passionate leader, whereas Manning is a steady leadership voice. These are two different ways of leading – at first glance – but both effective.

I think great leaders combine both traits and I also believe Brady’s passionate style is as effective as Manning’s passion about preparation and execution.
Leaders have to be tough, passionate in their beliefs, and steady in their daily habits. It also helps to have the toughness for which Welker himself has become admired.