Have you ever coached a team that was talented but something was just missing and as a result it simply underperformed?

If the answer is no

… then either you haven’t been coaching long or you are one of the all-time great coaches.

The truth is a lot of teams fall short of expectations.

But why?

According to Dr. Cory Dobbs, Founder & President of The Academy for Sport Leadership, teams often become so focused on tasks and strategies and their commitment to the “team” begins to wane.

In the video clip below Dr. Dobbs discusses a case study he conducted with a team that was underperforming.

He shares the process he used to help them develop teammate accountability and become a more successful team that was focused on transformation, relationships, and harmony.

If you are a coach that is interested in the new science of leadership, teamwork, and teambuilding then you will want to check out Dr. Dobbs’s new masterclass: Coaching for Leadership.

In this groundbreaking course he shares his 3 Big Ideas:

• A Leader in Every Locker
• Coaching for Leadership
• Teamwork Intelligence

*The Coaches Toolbox subscribers: Use coupon code “Toolbox25” to receive a 25% discount on the course at checkout here: Coaching for Leadership Masterclass*

Submitted by Dr. Cory Dobbs of The Academy for Sport Leadership. Dr. Dobbs is a regular contributor on coaching for leadership to The Coaching Toolbox.

Three Reasons Every Coach Needs a Mentor

Most coaches enter the profession with a vision on building a career.  Simply stated, anyone who is building a career will need help along the way. Experienced coaches, current and former, can serve effectively as mentors.  But a mentor needn’t be an ex-coach.  Sometimes the ex-coach as mentor can undermine growth and development by spending too much time on “this is how I handled it.”  All coaches can benefit from the wisdom and insight of others.  The energy and growth from relevant learning interactions can be a career game-changer.  Here are three important contributions that mentor relationships can provide:

REFLECTION
Learning from others further down the career road can be intimidating at first.  Yet, what feels like a big deal initially, may not be a big deal in the larger scheme of things. It’s important to know what to sweat and what to forget–when it’s okay to let something roll off your back and when you should stop and reflect more deeply. Great mentors have a better view of the broad landscape. Effective mentors excel at asking questions, specifically the types of questions that lead you to reflect on your performance, behavior, and goals as well has how to learn from your mistakes and successes.

PERSPECTIVE.
Mentors can help you make sense of your current situation; the small things as well as developing expertise from your experiences.  They don’t tell you what to do.  Instead they use questions to teach you how to think constructively on your own. In the process, they help you realign your perspective with the reality of the situation, to provide you the smoothest, most natural path forward in a way that is authentic to who you are.

ENCOURAGEMENT
There is an old saying that “nothing succeeds like success.” This means success bread success, that you have a better chance of being successful if you’re successful.  This is only partly true. We may gain confidence from our successes, but it’s our failures that develop our leadership muscle and offer the most powerful insights.  When you are expected to learn from your mistakes, it’s important to be able to view that process in a positive light–to see how valuable and rich hard-won lessons can be.  Every coach needs positive energy to move forward in their career. An effective mentor will help you build self-confidence step-by-step, through victory and defeat, success and failure, and all the challenges that emerge along your coaching journey.

Dr. Cory Dobbs is an accomplished researcher of human performance–a relentless investigator of team building and leadership behavior.  A skilled researcher, Cory actively engages the process of naturalistic inquiry seeking in-depth understanding of social phenomena such as leadership and team building in their natural setting.  A “teamologist,” Dr. Dobbs is an author, speaker, teacher, trainer and a consultant.

Cory is the Founder & President of The Academy for Sport Leadership. A former basketball coach, Cory’s coaching background includes experience at the NCAA DII, NJCAA, and high school levels of competition. Cory has worked with collegiate athletic programs and high schools teaching leadership and team building as a part of the sports experience and education process.

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will care.” -Your Student-Athlete The world of coaching is changing. In Coaching for Leadership you’ll discover the foundations for designing, building, and sustaining a leadership focused culture for building a high-performance team. 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

Dr. Cory Dobbs
The Academy for Sport Leadership

In an essay titled “Good Guys Finish First (Sometimes),” Andrew Bagnato told the following story:

Following a rags-to-riches season that led them to the Rose Bowl—their first in decades—Northwestern University’s Wildcats met with coach Gary Barnett for the opening of spring training.

As players found their seats, Barnett announced that he was going to hand out awards that many Wildcats had earned in 1995.  Some players exchanged glances.  Barnett does not normally dwell on the past.  But as the coach continued to call players forward and handed them placards proclaiming their achievements, they were cheered on by their teammates.

One of the other coaches gave Barnett a placard representing his 17 national coach of the year awards.  Then, as the applause subsided, Barnett walked to a trash can marked “1995.”  He took an admiring glance at his placard, then dumped it in the can.

In the silence that followed, one by one, the team’s stars dumped their placards on top of Barnett’s.  Barnett had shouted a message without uttering a word.  ‘What you did in 1995 was terrific, lads.  But look at the calendar: It’s 1996.’

Teachable Point of view: It’s dangerous to rest on our past successes.

New to the Second Edition of Coaching for Leadership!

We are pleased to announce a new chapter to the second edition of the best-selling Coaching for Leadership. The chapter, The Big Shift: Unlock Your Team’s Potential by Creating Player-Led Teambuilding, connects the previous edition of this book to its origin, as well as to the future of team sports.

The new chapter sets forth a practical and applicable agenda for change and improvement. The reader is introduced to seven vital elements of change; seven shifts of traditional mental models that lead to the new core principles necessary for creating a player-led team culture. Click here for more information about Coaching for Leadership

About Cory Dobbs, Ed.D.

Cory Dobbs is the founder of The Academy for Sport Leadership and a nationally recognized thought leader in the areas of leadership and team building.  Cory is an accomplished researcher of human experience. Cory engages in naturalistic inquiry seeking in-depth understanding of social phenomena within their natural setting.

A college basketball coach, Cory’s coaching background includes experience at the NCAA DII, NJCAA, and high school levels of competition.  After a decade of research and development Cory unleashed the groundbreaking Teamwork Intelligence program for student-athletics. Teamwork Intelligence illuminates the process of designing an elite team by using the 20 principles and concepts along with the 8 roles of a team player he’s uncovered while performing research.

Cory has worked with professional athletes, collegiate athletic programs, and high schools teaching leadership and team building as a part of the sports experience and education process.  As a consultant and trainer Dr. Dobbs has worked with Fortune 500 organizations such as American Express, Honeywell, and Avnet, as well as medium and small businesses. Dr. Dobbs taught leadership and organizational change at Northern Arizona University, Ohio University, and Grand Canyon University.

Choosing Success Every Day

Ask Why Before You Ask How

Dr. Cory Dobbs
The Academy for Sport Leadership

One simple way to gain more control over your life is to ask the correct questions at the correct times.  Everything that you do in your life has at least two basic parts to it.  One part is the reason for you to do it and the other part is how you can do it.  You must first discover whether or not you should do something and then ask yourself why you want to do it.  If you determine that it is important, then you should learn the best way to complete it.  Simply put, you should ask “why” questions before you ask “how” questions.

Asking “why” questions is central to determining whether what you are about to do is worth doing.  In short, you are addressing the key human motivational question “Is it worth it?”  Your success in leading yourself and others depends on your ability to work with the why questions.  The actions you prioritize should revolve around improving and differentiating yourself thereby propelling you to success every day.  Examine your choices, priorities, and dreams to help make decisions that will impact your teammates and help you achieve your goals and dreams.

This may sound like common sense.  But many student-athletes aren’t yet very skilled at making optimal decisions on some of life’s key questions—whether the issue is simple or complex.  However, as you mature you’ll find yourself not only desiring to make more choices but provided the opportunity to make decisions that affect you and your teammates.

All of us are constantly asking ourselves, whether it’s a trivial task or a key life decision, “Is it worth it?”  Before we exert physical or intellectual energy we generally respond either impulsively or with great thought to this motivational question.

The why questions are so important because they are the first questions successful people ask to focus their actions. If you want to experience more success on a daily basis take time to thoughtfully respond to the concerns and consequences posed by the Why questions.

Answering the question “Why?” helps you by planting seeds that:

Guide you in clarify your objectives.
Push you to think of alternatives.
Challenge you to see a different perspective.
Increase your productivity.
Force you to think about the consequences of your actions.

Studies have shown that by taking as little as ten minutes each day to carefully craft your priorities and actions steps you’ll improve the likelihood of your success.  Here is a process for you to use as a tool for maximizing your success every day.

Daily Leadership Action Steps

Focus on priorities.  As you encounter your daily calendar your challenge is to clarify your objectives and do those things that are going to help you as a student, as an athlete, and as a team leader.

Implement something every day.  Each day provides you an opportunity to produce results.  What are you going to do and why?  Results matter.

Reflect on what happens/results.  To learn from experience you must reflect on what happens. When you detach yourself—as best possible—from an experience you are able to make better sense of daily actions, events, and incidents.

Seek feedback and support.  Learning from experience requires feedback from coaches, teammates and self-generated.

Transfer learning.  A skilled learner will find ways to transfer learning from one context to another.  Start by looking for opportunities to use your new skills and knowledge.

And, here is another post from Dr. Dobbs…

 

Yesterday is Deceiving

In an essay titled “Good Guys Finish First (Sometimes),” Andrew Bagnato told the following story:

Following a rags-to-riches season that led them to the Rose Bowl—their first in decades—Northwestern University’s Wildcats met with coach Gary Barnett for the opening of spring training.

As players found their seats, Barnett announced that he was going to hand out awards that many Wildcats had earned in 1995.  Some players exchanged glances.  Barnett does not normally dwell on the past.  But as the coach continued to call players forward and handed them placards proclaiming their achievements, they were cheered on by their teammates.

One of the other coaches gave Barnett a placard representing his 17 national coach of the year awards.  Then, as the applause subsided, Barnett walked to a trash can marked “1995.”  He took an admiring glance at his placard, then dumped it in the can.

In the silence that followed, one by one, the team’s stars dumped their placards on top of Barnett’s.  Barnett had shouted a message without uttering a word.  ‘What you did in 1995 was terrific, lads.  But look at the calendar: It’s 1996.’

Teachable Point of view: It’s dangerous to rest on our past successes.

New to the Second Edition of Coaching for Leadership!

We are pleased to announce a new chapter to the second edition of the best-selling Coaching for Leadership. The chapter, The Big Shift: Unlock Your Team’s Potential by Creating Player-Led Teambuilding, connects the previous edition of this book to its origin, as well as to the future of team sports.

The new chapter sets forth a practical and applicable agenda for change and improvement. The reader is introduced to seven vital elements of change; seven shifts of traditional mental models that lead to the new core principles necessary for creating a player-led team culture. Click here for more information about Coaching for Leadership

About Cory Dobbs, Ed.D.

Cory Dobbs is the founder of The Academy for Sport Leadership and a nationally recognized thought leader in the areas of leadership and team building.  Cory is an accomplished researcher of human experience. Cory engages in naturalistic inquiry seeking in-depth understanding of social phenomena within their natural setting.

A college basketball coach, Cory’s coaching background includes experience at the NCAA DII, NJCAA, and high school levels of competition.  After a decade of research and development Cory unleashed the groundbreaking Teamwork Intelligence program for student-athletics. Teamwork Intelligence illuminates the process of designing an elite team by using the 20 principles and concepts along with the 8 roles of a team player he’s uncovered while performing research.

Cory has worked with professional athletes, collegiate athletic programs, and high schools teaching leadership and team building as a part of the sports experience and education process.  As a consultant and trainer Dr. Dobbs has worked with Fortune 500 organizations such as American Express, Honeywell, and Avnet, as well as medium and small businesses. Dr. Dobbs taught leadership and organizational change at Northern Arizona University, Ohio University, and Grand Canyon University.

Focus on the Coaching Staff

HEALTHY CONVERSATION: THE STARTING POINT

The most valuable resource in any organization is the human resource.  The second most valuable resource may just be the way we talk to one another.  That’s because we spend a considerable part of our work lives in conversation—it’s the way we get things done.  And the way we talk and relate to one another is expressed in conversation.  So it’s appropriate to suggest that conversation determines the quality of our work and our work life—for better or worse.

To that end, while it’s self-evident that we have more tools for communication than ever before, our exchanges seem more fragmented and our relationships more disconnected causing us to miss out on the promise of conversation.  Therefore, we need to get smart about how we talk to one another.

Over the past decade and-a-half I’ve witnessed many dysfunctional coaching staffs.  The primary dysfunction is rarely a result of coaching strategy, tactics, or philosophy.  Rather, it is manifested in the way the staff members talk with one another.  The complexity of coaching a team requires a coaching staff to think together, which is accomplished through conversation.  Unfortunately this is often where the wheels fall off the team bus.

Think of a conversation as a dynamic, interactive process that unfolds over time among individuals.  For the most part, the objective of deep conversation (we’ll save shallow conversation for later) is to solve a problem—either task related or person and performance.  The implied goal of communication is to “share” one’s reality.  The flaw is that reality is produced by our individual filters and colored by our unique experiences.

To build a high-performance coaching staff necessitates conversational participants connect rigorously (intensity) and relationally (intimately).   Rigorous conversation is communication that is authentic and stimulates a search for reliability, while relational conversation is designed to promote healthy working relationships and a stimulating environment.  The essence of rigorous and relational conversation is not only to share one’s reality, but to create a reality that includes the voices of all participants.

The coaching world resides in a complex setting—mixing human behavior and real-time decision making.  Most coaches (head and assistant) don’t want merely to survive the decision making process; they want to be effective, or even excellent at what they do.  To do so requires the coaching staff to understand that conversational experience is a vital part of the message.  That is, communication occurs from an emotional, ego-driven perspective as much as it does from a logical mindset.

The emotional aspect of conversation often is a trigger to a quick death of communication.  When someone disagrees with us, we get angry or defensive, and, depending on the status difference, we are likely to dismiss the other’s input.  After all, we simply want the other person to see the world as we see it.

I believe we can transform the way your coaching staff works.  I think rigorous and relational conversation is the answer.  I make this assertion because I know that small-scale conversation is the beating heart of any team.  One conversation, moment, or incident, can have a profound impact on an individual or a team.  One comment, question, or discussion can inspire and provoke fundamental change.   Truth be told, rigorous and relational conversation is the only way to build harmonious, constructive, and mutually beneficial relationships that produce high performance.

New to the Second Edition of Coaching for Leadership!

We are pleased to announce a new chapter to the second edition of the best-selling Coaching for Leadership. The chapter, The Big Shift: Unlock Your Team’s Potential by Creating Player-Led Teambuilding, connects the previous edition of this book to its origin, as well as to the future of team sports.

The new chapter sets forth a practical and applicable agenda for change and improvement. The reader is introduced to seven vital elements of change; seven shifts of traditional mental models that lead to the new core principles necessary for creating a player-led team culture. Click here for more information about Coaching for Leadership

About Cory Dobbs, Ed.D.

Cory Dobbs is the founder of The Academy for Sport Leadership and a nationally recognized thought leader in the areas of leadership and team building.  Cory is an accomplished researcher of human experience. Cory engages in naturalistic inquiry seeking in-depth understanding of social phenomena within their natural setting.

A college basketball coach, Cory’s coaching background includes experience at the NCAA DII, NJCAA, and high school levels of competition.  After a decade of research and development Cory unleashed the groundbreaking Teamwork Intelligence program for student-athletics. Teamwork Intelligence illuminates the process of designing an elite team by using the 20 principles and concepts along with the 8 roles of a team player he’s uncovered while performing research.

Cory has worked with professional athletes, collegiate athletic programs, and high schools teaching leadership and team building as a part of the sports experience and education process.  As a consultant and trainer Dr. Dobbs has worked with Fortune 500 organizations such as American Express, Honeywell, and Avnet, as well as medium and small businesses. Dr. Dobbs taught leadership and organizational change at Northern Arizona University, Ohio University, and Grand Canyon University.