Coaches Toolbox

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

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Leadership Nuggets for Coaches

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Kevin Eastman is a Worldwide Speaker on Leadership & Team Building. The lessons he teaches are applicable everywhere. These area few of his tweets. You can follow him at https://twitter.com/#!/kevineastman

  • Part of leadership is motivating those you lead. So you must know what actually motivates each person. The critical part is tapping into that!
  • What you “expect” is not often what you get. What you “earn” is certainly more apt to get you going in that direction. Earning trumps expecting!
  • DO you ever think: why him or her? My thought is “if them; then why not me”. Put it on yourself to make it YOU – not THEM (or anyone else)!
  • What you do; how you do it; and who you associate with on a daily basis will determine your image and your impact!
  • The most important list you need to make: the list of things you need to do to become what you want to become…. Get the paper out now!

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  • It’s ok to be at a loss of words, but we should never be at a loss of ideas or vision of ourselves!
  • Decisions to make on your problems: make excuses for them; feel sorry for yourself; or work to solve them????
  • A great weekend personal assignment: read as much as you can this weekend. See how much you can learn. Then apply it in this upcoming week!
  • The most successful people in life control the controllable things in their life. Those that stay on top of these have a chance to be on top!
  • Learn from life by evaluating backwards (what happened); progress with life by living life forward (what can happen)! Don’t live in past!

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  • Today is always a great day to get something done that you DO NOT FEEL LIKE DOING. Usually this leads to great momentum on other things!
  • Observing & absorbing: so important to be a keen observer. But equally important to absorb what you learn. Need both steps to succeed!
  • One of the best qualities we can possess is the ability to “bring energy” every day. Energy is a multiplier – it pulls others in.
  • Looking for excuses is easy because there are lots of them out there. Fighting through challenges is hard — BUT: it usually leads to success!
  • Successful people have a willingness to dig in when times are tough. The alternative is to give in-definitely much easier but never successful!

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  • Do what you do best; do it that way all the time; continue to learn–and accept nothing less of yourself. This is how you continue to climb.
  • Everyone need to understand that talent is a “gift”; but attitude, focus, spirit, discipline, and character are “choices”!
  • Potential or production? Best teams & companies love potential but value & need production. Potential must become production at some point!
  • Best organizations in sports or business have: the resources needed; the environment that fosters success; people w/ character/team mindset!
  • Seeking counsel from those who came before you is on of the most intelligent things you can do for your future success. Find those people!

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  • Leadership begins as a title but the best leaders turn it into a position of nurturing, guiding, helping, encouraging, changing, & creating!
  • Two groups you must pay 100% attention to: 1) the group of people (your circle) you travel in; 2) the group of thoughts you allow into your mind!
  • An important question I as myself: what do I want to become? My answer drives me each day. “Becoming”, to me, is very, very powerful!
  • What if you said: I’m going to do this religiously for 10 days & begin the habit forming process. Think how many habits you could create in a year!
  • Mistakes are always going to be made. It’s simply a part of many things we are trying to do. The key is to make “new” mistakes.

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  • What you say as a leader has the power to strengthen or weaken those you lead. There is power in words. Leaders must use them wisely!
  • When times are most tough and your self doubt may be kicking in: that is when you have to rely on your mind/work/spirit–knowing you have invested all 3!
  • People ask me all the time what’s the single most important thing I do every day. It’s actually 2 things: 1) I read —- 2) I think. A must!
  • Introspection is the key ingredient of growth, development, and improvement. But true introspection takes well thought out questions!
  • So often we all come to a point where we can’t seem to make a final decision. That is the time where we have to get away & just think.
  • What you put on paper is most powerful when you put it in front of you on a daily basis. Seeing it makes it become a part of you everyday.

Action Steps for Team Leaders

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Some good thoughts to share with your team’s leaders or with the entire team.

These two handouts were taken from Ryan Renquist’s “The Notebook of Champions” Building Success One Victory at a Time (Sixth Edition)

What is a Leader?

A LEADER, LEADS BY EXAMPLE: A leader must be a positive role model at all times. Every word spoken has to be a positive word. Every act he does must be a positive act. A leader can never be negative. He must be a shining example of what it takes to be great.

A LEADER BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN OTHERS: A leader must be the type of person that others want to be like. He has to inspire his teammates to be their very best.

A LEADER IS AN EXTENSION OF THE COACH: Most players are well behaved when the coach is around. However, when the coach is not around, negative things can occur. Any type of negative talk, about the team or another player, is detrimental to the team. A leader does not try to cut corners in any way. He knows what the team and school rules are and does not break them himself, or allow others to break them.

A LEADER IS A HARD WORKER: A leader must enjoy serving others. He must want to do the things that are necessary for a team to have success. A leader is always trying to think of ways he can help improve the team.

A LEADER PUTS THE TEAM FIRST: It is easy to come up with excuses why we can’t get a task done. I hear those excuses all the time. If you want to do something, you can almost always do it. If you don’t want to do something, you can almost always find an excuse so that you don’t have to do it. I want people who I can count on to be there. I want people who are committed to basketball all year – not just during the season.

A LEADER TRULY WANTS TO BE A SERVANT: You can’t fake it, you either want to be a positive servant to your team, or you don’t. The leaders of this team do not have to be the best players. In fact, I think it is neat when someone who isn’t a great player steps up and takes on a leadership role. Your job as a member of this team is to find some way to make a positive contribution to the team. For some that contribution may be providing leadership.

Leading by Helping Others:

If you think it ever was about you as a leader, you are wrong. Leadership is about others. Great leaders love and care about others more than themselves.

Here are four tips to help you love and care about those you lead. However, let me preface these tips by saying that the most important thing you need to do is not fake caring. Either you really love those you lead or you don’t. If don’t feel it, don’t fake it. Faking it will erode your trust as a leader very quickly. People know when leaders are genuine and when they are not.

1. Serve. There is a positive correlation between serving others and love. The more you serve others, the more you will care for and love them. The more you care and love, the greater desire you will have to serve. It can be as easy as sending a heartfelt card during a tender time in an employee’s life, or doing something nice for their family. There are many opportunities to serve those we lead, we just need to be aware and look for them.

2. Be empathetic. See those you lead as people with needs just like you. I was talking to a colleague of mine the other day who has an employee with a very sick father who lives clear across the country. She can’t afford an airline ticket to see him. This kind and generous leader is going to buy her a ticket so she can see her father, and he is doing it anonymously. He has truly seen those he leads as people just like him that he can reach out and serve.

3. See the positive. Everybody has good in them. The more you think and speak positively of others the more you will care. If you are always seeing the negative; it is difficult to care because those feelings are in direct conflict with caring. Some of you might be saying, “well, that is fine and dandy, but there is negative, and I have to address that too.” And I agree. But look for the positive first and then address the negative because you love that person, not because you are upset or angry.

4. Express it. Now, you don’t need to say “I love you.” That could be construed as something different than what you are trying convey. But telling those you lead that you really do care about them; that you appreciate them, and feeling it as you say it, will increase your love for them. There is a real connection that occurs when you express how you feel genuinely to others.


10 Tips for Leaders Making Tough Decisions

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Editor’s Note from Brian. As coaches, we have many tough decisions. In some ways, we are similar to being the CEO of our programs. Here are some business lessons that can be applied to coaching as well.

by Kevin Dee

Any Leader needs to make tough decisions. CEOs tend to have the unique additional challenge of making such decisions as the final decision maker. It is a subtle, yet sometimes daunting, difference.

At any other level within an organization there is someone else to challenge/stop/change or just agree with the tough calls. The buck stops with the CEO which means she/he is ultimately responsible for all company decisions.

Experienced CEOs will generally get the calls right and know that, because they are not infallible, there will sometimes be mistakes. He/she knows that ultimately making a decision is always better than a “no decision” and most mistakes can be fixed if necessary.

Some leaders run into trouble, by making poor decisions, or by avoiding making decisions. In my experience there are a number of reasons for this:

  • They are unwilling to get/listen to the right input before making a decision.
  • They think they have all the answers themselves.
  • They become paralyzed by the amount of input to the situation requiring a decision.
  • They lack confidence in their ability to make the right call.
  • They are worried about upsetting some people with their decision.

If the leader having a problem is not the CEO, then the problem can be solved quickly by a decision made by a more senior executive.

If the leader having a problem is the CEO, the impact on the organization is significant. CEOs MUST be willing to make tough calls, and be seen to act on decisions. The majority of those decisions should be sound decisions. This builds confidence and trust, which in turn creates a healthy leadership team.

Here are some thoughts on my experiences as a CEO making tough calls.

  1. Get all of the input that you need, from whatever source. NOT just from your executive team.
  2. Truly listen. Some leaders “listen to talk”, you must “listen to understand”.
  3. Understand that you can’t please all of the people all of the time.
  4. Be sensitive to those who will not like your decision.
  5. When it is a big decision, give yourself enough time, but don’t go beyond the “right amount of time”. If you have all the facts, and nothing is going to change, it is time to make your call.
  6. Make sure you are making a business decision and not an emotional decision.
  7. When the decision is complex I like to get outside of the office to think it through. My ideal is to get on my motorbike and let everything else go, it is amazing how often this brings clarity!
  8. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Listen before and explain after!
  9. Some people will need more time to understand and absorb your decision, if possible take the time to explain it to them.
  10. Know your own weaknesses, and get the right advisors to help you with those. I am not a detail guy, but I have detail people I trust implicitly.

“Inability to make decisions is one of the principal reasons executives fail. Deficiency in decision-making ranks much higher than lack of specific knowledge or technical know-how as an indicator of leadership failure.” John C. Maxwell

Tough decisions will define you as a leader, do not shy away from them!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/leadership-articles/ten-tips-for-leaders-making-tough-decisions-7105697.html
About the Author: http://www.articlesbase.com/authors/kevin-dee/1595305

5 Signs of Toxic Leadership on Your Team

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This article was submitted by Quinn McDowell, founder of Arete Hoops.
You can read more of his articles at this link: AreteHoops

I hope you can use some of these thoughts as a different voice to share with your players.

5 Signs of Toxic Leadership

The well known author John Maxwell defines leadership as nothing more than one person influencing another. This definition gives us a singular focus when thinking about leadership in the context of a team dynamic. The idea that leadership is primarily influence, forces us to accept the notion that no one is exempt from the responsibilities that leadership requires.

Although certain players will exert more influence than others, every person on a team contributes to the culture of their program. If the entire team buys into a common vision of leadership that exerts a positive influence on those around them, the results can be amazing. On the other hand, if players decide to use their influence for selfish ends, the results can be toxic. Bad leadership spreads quickly and has devastating potential; but if you recognize the warning signs early enough, you can help save your team from self-destruction. Leadership is contagious whether positive or negative, so here are 5 signs that your team could be experiencing a turn for the worse…

1. Gossip

Gossip destroys trust and undermines team cohesiveness and togetherness. One of the most important strengths of great teams is their ability to insulate themselves against negativity. The only way teams shield themselves from outside influences is draw close and lean on each other during the inevitable ups and downs of a season. This “drawing close” process becomes difficult when players gossip about fellow teammates or coaching decisions. If a player has a problem with another player or is unsure of their role on the team, the mature way to handle these kind of doubts is to speak directly with the coach. Once the coach is involved, everyone can get on the same page and figure out a solution. Gossip is the cowardly way to handle tough situations and gossip destroys team chemistry.

2. Pouting

One of the signs of great leaders is their ability to celebrate team success despite how they perform individually. Of course it is easy to be happy about a victory when you score a lot of points, grab a bunch of rebounds, or dish out a number of assists. But the true test of great leadership is the ability to be genuinely excited about team accomplishments when you didn’t have your best game. Toxic leadership can start in the locker room after a big win when a player starts to pout because of a poor individual performance. This kind of pouting sends the message that MY
performance on the floor is what really matters and team success is secondary.

3. Poor Body Language

Your non-verbal communication as a leader is incredibly important. It communicates you’re feelings and shows the value of your priorities. For example, poor body language on the court after a teammate makes a mistake communicates a message of disgust and annoyance with that person. You are essentially telling that teammate, “I wish I had another player on the court with me who could play the right way”. This kind of communication coming from a prominent leader makes other teammates feel insecure and unsure of themselves on the court. Uncertainty leads to hesitancy which compounds mistakes and leads to poor team chemistry.

4. Negative Reaction to Adversity

There will come a point in every season when your team will have to respond to adversity. How these moments are handled by your leaders will set the tone for how the rest of the team responds in difficult circumstances. Your team might be losing to an inferior opponent and your leaders will have a choice to either blame the poor performance on someone (usually a coach or teammate), or take responsibility and figure out a way to improve the situation. Another example could be when the coach subs out a player during a tense moment in the game; how that player reacts to the coaches decision is important. The player can either sulk to the end of the bench consumed with selfish thoughts, or they can turn their frustration into positive energy and cheer their teammates on. Both reactions communicate specific messages to teammates and coaches. Toxic leaders tend to be consumed with their own predicaments are prone to have negative reactions to adversity.

5. Martyr Complex

The last sign of toxic leadership, is when players start believing (and telling anyone else who will listen) they are martyrs or victims. Whether it is coaching decisions, bad calls by the referees, unfair playing time, injuries, or incompetent teammates, leaders that adopt the martyr complex bring a dangerous presence to team dynamics. If players start to believe that someone else is the primary source of their problems, this creates a culture of entitlement and laziness. Rather than looking in the mirror and figuring out how to improve, martyrs look at their circumstances and blame others. Martyrs will never put up a fight in the heated battles of competition; but instead will take the path of least resistance.

Quinn played basketball at Archbishop Moeller High School (Cincinnati, OH), 4 years at the College of William and Mary, 1 season in the NBA D-League, and 2 years as a professional in Australia. Arete Hoops is dedicated to helping people of various ages, backgrounds, skill levels, and athletic goals pursue excellence in and through the game of Basketball.

You can read more articles by Quinn McDowell at this link: AreteHoops


Coaching and Leadership

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These two articles were sent to me by Dennis Hutter Coach Hutter is the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Mayville State University. Dennis also has a coaching website. The URL is http://www.coachhutter.com/

I hope that you are able to find some parts of the articles that you can use in your program, regardless of what sport you coach.

Here are some thoughts on Coaching and Leadership, along with a handout on 10 ways to Lead by Example. These notes were taken from a book entitled “The Legacy Builder” by Rod Olson. I encourage all coaches to read this book as it is a great source for leadership and maximizing performance out of your players. The handout was something that our Comet Coaching Staff put together and handed out to our players this summer.

One thing I have learned from the past two years, is how “winning” and “losing” pretty much take care of themselves. “Winning” is just a by-product of doing things and treating people the “right way”.

As coaches and leaders we have a chance EVERYDAY to inspire young people and help them achieve levels of success that they never dreamed possible. Good luck with everything.

LEADERSHIP NOTES

True leadership is about inspiration and encouragement, as well as coaching……… and balance

-Balance goes hand in hand with maturity, it crosses all aspects of your life – mental, physical, spiritual and emotional

Things that are built to last, are not built fast

Simplicity – trying to be a simple person in a complex world can be difficult at times

Great leaders have to remain F.A.T,

F = Faithful – people must fully trust the organization understanding that we have their best interests at heart ALL the time

A = Available – people must be willing to make time to be the BEST they can be for the team. As well as for their families and community.

T = Teachable – to achieve the other two, people need to have a “teachable spirit”, or they have NO SHOT at all!!!!! They can not come in thinking they know it all!!!

Leaders are great at “controlling the controllables”.

-Great leaders understand what they can control, and they control them. They also know what they cannot control and stay away from trying to control those aspects.

A coach’s or leader’s job is to help an individual or a team get to a level they cannot achieve by themselves. When that happens the “winning” pretty much takes care of itself.

Focus on the two things you really can control: Your effort and your attitude.

You cannot give away what you do not possess yourself. Strive to be a simple person in a complex world. Control your effort and your attitude.

If you want your players and workers to trust you and be loyal to you, you have to capture their hearts and earn their trust.

-Trust = Character + Competence. Your character is who you are, and your competence is how you do your job or what you do

-Consistence within your behavior will bring about trust, and that trust will lead to loyalty

The time of blind obedience has passed. People do not trust without reason and motivation anymore.

Mental Toughness = The ability to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

With adversity people have been taught to handle it one of two ways – “flight or fight”.

If you want to motivate your team members, you need to develop a relationship with them.

-You develop a relationship with your players and workers by letting them know you care.

If you can capture their hearts, you will have no trouble with motivation and performance execution.

Remind your players that they have greatness within them, and it is our job as coaches to help them discover it.

When giving feedback to players and workers, focus on the process and not on the results: Process over Product.

As coaches and leaders we need to T.H.I.N.K before we speak:

T = True – Is what I am about to say True?

H = Helpful – Is what I am about to say going to be Helpful?

I = Inspire – Is what I am about to say going to Inspire them to get to the “next level?”

N = Necessary – Is what I am about to say Necessary, or am I only speaking to hear myself speak???

K = Kind – Is what I am about to say going to be received as Kind

 

10 Ways to Lead with Your Example

Your example when it comes to influencing others is not the main thing, it is the only thing.  Don Meyer

 

  1. How You Talk

-Let your words reflect your actions and your actions reflect your words

-Let your words be driven by your heart

-Be quick to listen and slow to speak – Wisdom.

  1. How You Treat People

-Kindness

-Kindness is the language that the blind can see and deaf can hear – Mark Twain

-Do something for someone who can’t do anything for you

-Treat people with great respect – handle conflict respectfully as well

  1. Keep Your Word & Promises

-Sometimes this may mean promising less, so you can deliver more

-All we have is our word, without that we are nothing

-Keep your word, and you will garner great respect in your daily relationships

-Trust is earned in a relationship when a promise is kept –Build Trusting Relationships

  1. Work Ethic

-Be the hardest working person on your team or in your department

-Stay educated and knowledgeable to give your team a chance to succeed

-NEVER GIVE UP/ ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO WIN TO HELP YOUR ORGANIZATION

-Do more/Say less

  1. Your Attitude & Effort

–You can control two things in your life: Your Effort and your Attitude

–It is easy to work hard and have a great attitude when things are going well,

what is your attitude and work ethic like, when things are not going well???

-Attitude and Effort are great measures of a person’s character.

-No discipline seems pleasant at the time…

  1. Say “Please”, “Thank You” and “You’re Welcome”

-These are lost words in our society today

-These words can have a long lasting impact on your daily relationships

-These words are a great way to show respect to others

-Saying these words will make people in your relationships want to help you again when the time comes.

  1. Be on Time/Stay Late

-Be the first one in the office, and the last one to leave

-Have your staff see you when they enter the office in the morning, and have

them see you when they leave the office for the day

-Great work ethic throughout the office or team starts at the top – show them

how to work hard with your example.

  1. Write Personal Notes & Thank You Notes

-You will never know the power of a thank you note, until you receive one

-A great way to show appreciation in your daily relationships, is to take the time to sit down and write a personal or thank you note to someone.

-Personal notes of praise are a great way to build confidence and let players/staff know they are doing a great job.

  1. Delegate Responsibility

-Delegating responsibility builds leaders within your staff or department

-Delegating also builds trust within the relationships in your department or staff

-Delegating allows you to stay sharp and fresh

-Delegating allows you time to focus on the vision or strategic plan for your department, staff or team.

-YOU CAN’T BUILD LEADERS, IF YOU NEVER GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO LEAD

  1. Live a Life of Servant Leadership

-Use the Bible as a model and a guide – Jesus was the best servant leader EVER during his time on earth

-Servant leadership shows that you care about others more than you care about yourself – SELFLESS

-Servant leadership is the best feeling – it is almost addicting

-THE SINGLE BEST WAY TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE IS TO SERVANT LEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!