I enjoy the Olympics. The 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver was inspirational and the athletic performances amazing. The back-stories about how individuals and teams overcome physical and emotional hardships and turned in the performances of their lives was great stuff.
Some of the stories, often shared at the end-of-broadcast, made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. But not all of them were about success, not all of them had a happy ending. Some included the heartbreak of near-misses, lost opportunities and the difficult circumstances some of the athletes face daily.
I think the combination of intensity, pushing oneself to the limit, and the possibility of both success or failure, frames the magnetic pull of sports. It is high drama in real life. We know we’ll witness incredible athleticism and super-human performances. That tension is what keeps us glued to our televisions and leaning forward in our seats.
Sport metaphors are cliche but, while I'm going to use sports to teach a business lesson, I'm going to take a different approach. I want to talk about the coaches. Olympic athletes, Phil Michelson and LeBron James all have coaches, as do their lesser talented peers. So coaches must do something important, right?
Coaches are usually in the background while the athletes perform. They are not out there looking over their shoulder while the game is being played, they (for the most part) don't coach on the actual playing field. They know who has the talent and, when the coaching subsides, they let the talent, the athlete, perform. They allow the gifted to fully express him- or herself.
Managers could learn a few things from watching coaches. Managers who build teams of people whose talent and strengths exceed their own will perform better, in terms of outstanding results, than those who micro-manage, insist on being the "best-player" on their team, or are so insecure they can't handle other people being stars.
The Olympic coaches showed me something else too. They showed me how the best coaches never berate, belittle and rub a performer's nose in their shortcomings. They recognize that the athletes, their direct reports, know what went wrong and as often as not, how to correct their mistakes. They don't try to grind them to spider-dust so "they'll never do that again." They realize that an aggressive-negative approach squelches confidence. Independent thought and risk-taking, all of which are necessary for a high performance team and success, must be encouraged.
The best coaches teach and encourage. They help their athletes gain confidence so that they are psychologically prepared to face the competition and their next challenge. Like good coaches, good managers find out what’s working and, no matter how small the accomplishment-spark, they fan that flame in hopes of greater performance.
Their "feedback" is framed in the context of a better future: "The next time let's try this…"
So the next time one of your direct reports needs some coaching, Try This Instead.
Steve
800-707-9150
Some of the stories, often shared at the end-of-broadcast, made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. But not all of them were about success, not all of them had a happy ending. Some included the heartbreak of near-misses, lost opportunities and the difficult circumstances some of the athletes face daily.
I think the combination of intensity, pushing oneself to the limit, and the possibility of both success or failure, frames the magnetic pull of sports. It is high drama in real life. We know we’ll witness incredible athleticism and super-human performances. That tension is what keeps us glued to our televisions and leaning forward in our seats.
Sport metaphors are cliche but, while I'm going to use sports to teach a business lesson, I'm going to take a different approach. I want to talk about the coaches. Olympic athletes, Phil Michelson and LeBron James all have coaches, as do their lesser talented peers. So coaches must do something important, right?
Coaches are usually in the background while the athletes perform. They are not out there looking over their shoulder while the game is being played, they (for the most part) don't coach on the actual playing field. They know who has the talent and, when the coaching subsides, they let the talent, the athlete, perform. They allow the gifted to fully express him- or herself.
Managers could learn a few things from watching coaches. Managers who build teams of people whose talent and strengths exceed their own will perform better, in terms of outstanding results, than those who micro-manage, insist on being the "best-player" on their team, or are so insecure they can't handle other people being stars.
The Olympic coaches showed me something else too. They showed me how the best coaches never berate, belittle and rub a performer's nose in their shortcomings. They recognize that the athletes, their direct reports, know what went wrong and as often as not, how to correct their mistakes. They don't try to grind them to spider-dust so "they'll never do that again." They realize that an aggressive-negative approach squelches confidence. Independent thought and risk-taking, all of which are necessary for a high performance team and success, must be encouraged.
The best coaches teach and encourage. They help their athletes gain confidence so that they are psychologically prepared to face the competition and their next challenge. Like good coaches, good managers find out what’s working and, no matter how small the accomplishment-spark, they fan that flame in hopes of greater performance.
Their "feedback" is framed in the context of a better future: "The next time let's try this…"
So the next time one of your direct reports needs some coaching, Try This Instead.
Steve
800-707-9150
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