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The following is a listing of all posts in the category of Leadership for our site.

Click on the links to read the individual posts.

Developing Leadership Capacity in Athletes

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Developing Leadership Capacity

The Context and Culture Make a Difference in Developing Your Team Leaders

By Cory Dobbs, Ed.D., The Academy for Sport Leadership

It didn’t dawn on me that there might be anxieties and risk involved in team learning until I put a few work teams at a Fortune 100 company under a microscope. To say the very least, what I observed was a wide-range of defensive and protective processes which ultimately closed off the team’s members from learning and instead created a variety of dysfunctions anchoring the team’s collective efforts in the harbor of mediocrity.

As a result of this work I decided to take a closer look at how student-athletes learn in a team setting, and in particular how the context influences the perceived risk involved in learning to lead one’s teammates. Upon closer inspection it became obvious that many of the risks involved in team learning in the corporate world are mirrored in the athletic world. Likewise, learning to lead in a team environment is risky business.

So, how do you get student-athletes to learn together? There are no simple answers. However, knowing that the context greatly affects learning is a step in the right direction if you’re serious about your players learning how to lead.

Leadership Development and Psychological Safety

When a student-athlete takes on a leadership role it’s important to understand that he or she will learn primarily through trial and error (which is why I firmly believe in deliberate practice—scrimmage—as a way to reduce perceived risks). If a student is learning physical geography he or she will learn in private with no one else aware of his or her mistakes. However, learning to lead in a team setting requires learning by trial and error in interpersonal interactions. Learning this way is certainly not learning in private and the consequences of actions always involve one’s teammates. Therefore, team leaders perceive risk in appearing ignorant and or incompetent in front of their peers.

Because most student-athletes have little experience at leading, which includes making mistakes in front of teammates, such fears as embarrassment and rejection are always present. And many student-athletes are reluctant to take actions or to speak up or speak out for fear that their actions may be held against them by teammates. To neutralize such fears it’s in your best interest to create a psychologically safe environment.

Let’s start with what I mean by psychological safety. It is a shared belief by all team members that the team is an environment where everyone has a sense of confidence that others will not embarrass, disrespect, disregard, or punish someone for taking action or speaking up or speaking out. All members understand that a supportive learning environment is necessary to build a psychologically safe team context.

The central idea is that a psychologically safe team environment will produce higher performing team learning and team leadership. Expressed as a formula it looks like this:

formula

At the heart of the growth of a team leader is the leader as a learner, the learning process, and the context which together form the cornerstone of leadership development. Always keep in mind that the team leader is engaging in learning a new mind-set as well as a new skill-set. That is, the student-athlete as a team leader is undergoing a tremendous transformation and that is why creating a psychologically safe environment is necessary.

Creating a Psychologically Safe Learning Environment

Years ago, during a seminar the late Peter Drucker asked an elite group of executives “How many of you have deadwood in your organization?” referring to those employees that had retired on the job. The hands of every one of the high-profile CEOs went skyward. He then asked “Were they that way when you brought them into your organization?” The implication was obvious, if they were then the leader was at fault for hiring them, and if they weren’t then something inside the organization “caused” the employee to basically give up on improving and become organizational deadwood. The point is that the context has a much more profound effect on how people behave than most leaders
realize.

The question, then, is what can you do to create a psychologically safe environment for team leaders learning to lead? The first step is to understand your team environment as it is and how it interacts with the internal achievement drive of your team leaders. To do this, use the model below.

matrix

Hopefully the matrix above can provide a window into your current team context and how it is affecting the development of your team leaders. Psychological safety is an important component of creating an effective learning space for you and your team. The purpose of this brief article is to provide an introduction into the practice of developing a team leader’s capacity to lead through the process of team learning. When you involve all members of the team in the learning of leadership you’re more likely to create an effective learning environment.

Let me issue a quick reminder that leadership is a social influence process in which team leaders work to motivate or persuade teammates to achieve specific individual and team goals. As such, the norms, beliefs, and values that emerge from team member interactions will create team dynamics that will influence the social structure and social processes that will either enhance or inhibit team learning. Your goal as the chief architect of the environment should be to create a psychologically safe learning zone.

Ultimately, you have more to do with a team leader’s learning to lead—or not learning—than you probably thought you did. If you’re not growing team leaders, then it’s likely the problem is not the seed, it’s the soil.

To find out more about and order Sport Leadership Books authored by Dr. Dobbs including Coaching for Leadership, click this link: The Academy for Sport Leadership Books

About the Author

A former basketball coach, Cory’s coaching background includes experience at the NCAA DII, NJCAA, and high school levels of competition. While coaching, he researched and developed the transformative Becoming a Team Leader program for student-athletes. Cory has worked with professional athletes, collegiate athletic programs and high schools teaching leadership as a part of the sports experience and education process. Cory cut his teeth as a corporate leader with Fortune 500 member, The Dial Corp. As a consultant and trainer Dr. Dobbs has worked with such organizations as American Express, Honeywell, and Avnet.

Cory has taught a variety of courses on leadership and change for the following universities:

Northern Arizona University (Graduate Schools of Business and Education)

Ohio University (Graduate School of Education / Management and Leadership in Sport)

Grand Canyon University (Sports Marketing and Sports Management in the Colangelo School of Sports Business)

Visit www.corydobbs.com to read Cory’s leadership blog.


Filed Under: Leadership

The Great Leadership Challenge

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from Jim Rohn:

If  you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a  person of quality yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the  gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manager, as a  parent. What’s important in leadership is refining your skills. All great leaders  keep working on themselves until they become effective.

Here are some specifics:

Learn to be strong but not impolite. It is an extra step you must take to become a  powerful, capable leader with a wide range of reach. Some people mistake rudeness for strength. It’s not even a good substitute.

Next, learn to be kind but not weak. We must not mistake weakness for kindness.  Kindness isn’t weak. Kindness is a certain type of strength. We must be kind  enough to tell someone the truth. We must be kind enough and considerate enough  to lay it on the line. We must be kind enough to tell it like it is and not  deal in delusion.

Next,  learn to be bold but not a bully. It takes boldness to win the day. To build  your influence, you’ve got to walk in front of your group. You’ve got to be  willing to take the first arrow, tackle the first problem, discover the first  sign of trouble. Like the farmer, if you want any rewards at harvest time, you  have got to be bold and face the weeds and the rain and the bugs straight on.  You’ve got to seize the moment.

Here’s  the next step. You’ve got to learn to be humble but not timid. You can’t get to  the high life by being timid. Some people mistake timidity for humility. But  humility is a virtue; timidity is a disease. It’s an affliction. It can be  cured, but it is a problem.

Humility  is almost a God-like word. A sense of awe. A sense of wonder. An awareness of  the human soul and spirit. An understanding that there is something unique  about the human drama versus the rest of life. Humility is a grasp of the  distance between us and the stars, yet having the feeling that we’re part of  the stars.

Here’s  a good tip: Learn to be proud but not arrogant. It takes pride to build your  ambitions. It takes pride in your community. It takes pride in a cause, in  accomplishment. But the key to becoming a good leader is to be proud without  being arrogant.

Do  you know the worst kind of arrogance? Arrogance from ignorance. It’s  intolerable. If someone is smart and arrogant, we can tolerate that. But if  someone is ignorant and arrogant, that’s just too much to take.

The  next step is learning to develop humor without folly. In leadership, we learn  that it’s okay to be witty but not silly; fun but not foolish.

Next,  deal in realities. Deal in truth. Save yourself the agony of delusion. Just  accept life as it is. Life is unique. The whole drama of life is unique. It’s  fascinating.

Life  is unique. Leadership is unique. The skills that work well for one leader may  not work at all for another. However, the fundamental skills of leadership can  be adopted to work well for just about everyone: at work, in the community, and  at home.


Filed Under: Leadership

Leadership Notes for Coaches

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Sharing some notes that I have taken recently from some of my favorite leadership sources. Some of them, I hope you can use for yourself and your staff, others for your athletes, and most of them for both groups!

As with all of my posts, I am sure that you won’t agree with everything that is listed here and will probably find some that you either can use as is or that you can modify to meet your needs.

Kevin Eastman

Twitter: @KevinEastman

The mind & the attitude can have a major impact on how far one can go. The mind has to be “clutter free” and the attitude has to be “all in”!

Understand that trust has eyes & ears. It evaluates the consistency & authenticity of what it sees & hears. It takes its time to evaluate you!

Make sure the “give-get” percentages favor the “give”. Giving should be part of our make up. We all truly do have things to give & share!

As much as we like to tell people what we think it’s even more important to put thought to what we say. Hard to take words back!

Just as you work out physically, you must also get your repetitions in mentally. Challenge yourself with heavier mental reps as well. Stretch yourself!

Every so often a great exercise is to get away & just think about or remind yourself what you TRULY BELIEVE in; things that are non negotiable!!

Give yourself a chance to succeed. Success is about investment; adjustment; & commitment. Determine which, if any, you need to improve on!

To be a true teammate: must hold yourself accountable to everything you hold others accountable to. The one thing a true team is not: self centered!

Everyone says communication is so important-then why are we not as good at listening? It’s critical to success. We ALL need work on this SKILL!

To be a great teammate your pride will take a hit at times and your pride can never take precedent over the success of the team!

Being a good teammate is still doing your part when things are going bad for you. Being a good team is helping that Individual get out of it!

Consistency is a direct result of doing the right things the right way–now. Focus on the execution of now & discipline to do this every day!

A team will always have challenges and issues. That is where the strength of a team must show up: using everyone in anyway to get through them!

John Carrier

These notes were reposted with permission by John Carrier from his coaching blog. Here is a link to the blog: www.johncarrier.blogspot.com

I am currently reading Phil Jackson’s book, Eleven Rings. One gem I’ve pulled out in the first 100 pages is the “Bullseye Test” he uses with his players.

The Bulls eye Test is simple, yet insightful. Give each player a three ring bulls eye. Have them write where they feel that they are in terms of their connection to the rest of their teammates. Don’t give them any more than that. You can read a little more from the inside of the book at Amazon by clicking the cover of the book at the left, or you can click on this link: Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success

You then look at their bulls eyes and see how connected each person feels to our group. It also gives you a handle on how connected the team feels as a group. If they are very connected they are in the middle, if they feel kind of connected their name will be in the second ring, and if they don’t feel connected they write their name on the last ring or outside the rings. A lot of times it comes down to playing time – the more they play the closer to the middle they write their name. So you have to account for that a little bit when looking at them.

Once you’ve done the exercise, you can use them to have individual talks with your players. Ask lots of questions about why they feel that way, and if they are outside the middle how can we move them closer (without adjusting playing time of course). It will also help you determine if how to proceed with team bonding activities during the season. It’s something we will definitely use this season.

The following are some other notes he osted

John Tauer – St. Thomas University – Motivation

People are mostly motivated by three things:

  1. Autonomy
    Choice in life.
    Give athletes choices in what drills you do inpractice (within reason).
    Even one or two choices per practice can be powerful. 
  2. Togetherness
    Individuals need to belong to something bigger than themselves and have a more powerful purpose.
    Keep your finger on the pulse
    Team building
  3. Competence
    Being good at things.
    How can you put your athletes in positions to find success?

TJ Rosene – Emmanuel College/PGC – Building a Culture

Greatest Teammate Exercise
-Have players close their eyes and imagine the greatest teammate they ever had.
-Call on players to share the characteristics of that teammate.
-Make a team list of the traits of great teammates.
-Turn it around on them – why can’t EVERYONE on this team be a great teammate?
-Make the list into a “commitment list” that everyone is going to commit to (coaches included) and everyone will be held accountable to for the year.

Rocking Chair Statement
-As a coach, write a statement about what you want athletes to remember about you when you are old in a rocking chair on your front porch!

The Best At What They Know
-Everyone is the best at what they know.
-If you’ve got a problem athlete, they are likely exhibiting that behavior because that’s what they know.

Communication Must Haves
-Truth, Love, Transparency
-N.I.T.E
+Name, Information, Tone, Eye Contact
+Simple but effective

Open Mic Monday
-Do this as a team
-Players can stand up and say ANYTHING that is on their mind, especially things they are frustrated with.
-They can also ASK ANYTHING of teammates and coaches and will receive an honest answer.
-You must speak it in love and not anger.
*This is a GREAT WAY to make sure that issues stay in house and don’t ever boil over.

Lion vs. Sparrow
-Lion is content and confident. He doesn’t worry about anything he can’t control.
-The sparrow is always frantic.
-Lions play through bad calls, band bounces, etc without emotion.
-Sparrows constantly wine and complain
*Might change it to wolf and squirrel to fit Minnesota.


Filed Under: Leadership

Making a Difference

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The Starfish Story

I received this story several years ago in a frame at the end of our season from some of the graduating seniors. I definitely feel that it is worth sharing. If you have seen this before, it is definitely worth reflecting on again.

A young boy walked along a stretch of beach skimming shells into the waves, The boy noticed the distant figure of an old man.  Curious to see what, the man was doing, he dropped his shells and ran through the sand.

As he approached, the boy noticed the man repeatedly stooping to pick up objects and throw them beyond the breaking surf.  The boy also noticed that the sand was strewn with thousands of starfish, washed ashore by the out going tide.

The boy watched the man repeat his actions to returning starfish to the cool waters before the became lifeless, baked by the noonday sun.

The boy spoke.  “I see you throwing starfish into the ocean old man.  Why are you doing that?”

“To make  a difference,” replied the man.

‘Surely,” said the boy, with thousands of starfish all over the beach what possible difference could you make?”

The man smiled knowingly as he reached for yet another starfish.  As he tossed it far from the shore, he said,”It makes a difference to this one, son – it makes a difference to this one.’

The boy left the old man and thought about his words.  As he walked along the -beach, once again alone, he began picking up objects – tossing them into the sea. However, instead of sea shells this time, they were starfish.  The boy was returning them to their home.

He learned a powerful lesson that day.  He discovered that he too could make a difference.


Filed Under: Leadership

My Name is Coach

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Scott Rosberg – 2015

My son, Morgan, calls me, “Dad.” It is my favorite name that I am called. I love hearing him call me “Dad.” I also realize that it is the most important name that I am called. While to just about everyone else in the world my name is “Scott,” I am “Dad” to Morgan, and I take the responsibility that comes with that name very seriously.

Other than “Scott,” “Dad,” and probably a few choice names people have called me through the years, the other name that I am most often called is “Coach.”  Many years ago John Wooden wrote a great book called They Call Me Coach. The book is filled with many lessons that he learned throughout his life that made their way into his teaching and coaching of young people. The title, They Call Me Coach, is a good title, for it makes the reader zero in on the concept of who he is and how the title that people called him shaped his life. While this post is titled “My Name is Coach,” I am not claiming to be able to make John Wooden’s title or his ideas better or even add to them. Rather, this is my response to a thought that hit me numerous times over my career, and it has hit me hard recently. A few months ago, I was told by our school’s athletic director that I would not be re-hired as the varsity boys’ basketball coach. This post is about one of the thoughts I had as I realized that, for the time being, I am an “ex-coach”

As this new reality hit me, I realized that there is no such thing as an “ex-coach.” Once you are a coach, you are always a coach. This has been made clear to me at other points in my life when I stepped away from coaching for short periods of time. I started coaching at age 20, and for over thirty years, there have only been a few years where I have not coached in some fashion. Each time I stepped away from coaching for a while, I never felt like I was out of coaching. I was constantly watching sports with a coach’s eye, reading books by coaches, watching videos, and even attending coaching clinics. So the fact that I wasn’t coaching at those particular times didn’t make me feel that I wasn’t a coach.

But there is something even more powerful that hammers home the concept of “once a coach, always a coach.” People call me “Coach” whenever they greet me. Other coaches, teachers, administrators, parents, community members, and of course players who I have coached through the years all address me as “Coach.” When I talk to former players, the greeting is always, “Hey, Coach.” This happens often with players who have graduated. To them, I am not “Scott,” I am “Coach.” I have only had a few ex-players in my life ever address me by my first name, even those who are in their 30’s and 40’s now. I would have no problem with them calling me “Scott” – it is my name that everybody else calls me. However, just about every one of my players still calls me “Coach.” There are a few reasons why this happens. One is that they are uncomfortable calling me anything but “Coach” due to the respect that they have for me. Another is that they also have a level of respect for the title of “Coach.” Finally, one of the main reasons players still call me “Coach,” is that is my name to them. That is all they have known me as, and that is all they would ever consider calling me.

I still remember the first time I was ever called “Coach.” I imagine the young man who called me “Coach” for the first time doesn’t even remember me, but I have never forgotten the moment it happened, and I even remember the young man’s name – Matt Schuning – because of how powerful the moment was for me. I was student-teaching, and I was helping coach the freshmen boys’ basketball team. Matt was on the freshman team, and he was in my freshman English class. It was the day after our first practice, and Matt walked into the room and said, “Hey, Coach.” I was stunned. Here was a kid calling me, “Coach,” after one day of me being his coach. I thought, “That’s cool! I’m a Coach!” And then it hit me – “Whoa! I’m a Coach. These kids are looking up to me. They are taking their cues from me. They are listening to what I have to say and watching how I act. Holy Cow! I better do things the right way. I better behave properly. I better be a good role model. I better not screw this up!” I was 20-years-old, and the concept of “responsibility” had just hit me in the face with one 15-year-old boy calling me “Coach.”

That was 1981. For 34 years, I have never taken the title, the responsibility, or the importance of what I do for kids as a teacher and coach lightly. I have never taken the name that I am known by to so many people – “Coach” – for granted. Whether or not I ever coach again, I know that my name is “Coach” to thousands of people out there, and I have a huge responsibility to live up to being called “Coach.” Other than “Dad,” there is no greater name that I will be called. I have always loved and will always love being called “Coach,” and I will always keep in mind the great responsibility that I owe to that name. I hope any of you who are called “Coach” love being called “Coach” as much as I do. I also hope that you, too, will treat the name “Coach” with the dignity and responsibility that it deserves.

Do you remember the first time you were called “Coach”? Do you remember how that made you feel? I would love to hear from you in the comments section here or below this post on my website – www.coachwithcharacter.com.

About the Author of this Article

Scott Rosberg has been a coach (basketball, soccer, & football) at the high school level for 30 years, an English teacher for 18 years, and an athletic director for 12 years. He has published seven booklets on coaching and youth/school athletics, two books of inspirational messages and quotes for graduates, and a newsletter for athletic directors and coaches. He also speaks to schools, teams, and businesses on a variety of team-building, leadership, and coaching topics. Scott has a blog and a variety of other materials about coaching and athletic topics on his website – www.coachwithcharacter.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected].

Scott is also a member of the Proactive Coaching speaking team. Proactive Coaching is dedicated to helping organizations create character and education-based team cultures, while providing a blueprint for team leadership. They help develop confident, tough-minded, fearless competitors and train coaches and leaders for excellence and significance. Proactive Coaching can be found on the web at www.proactivecoaching.info. Also, you can join the 200,000+ people who have “Liked” Proactive Coaching’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/proactivecoach. Scott can also be reached through Proactive Coaching at [email protected].


Filed Under: Leadership

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