JUNE 18, 2021
CHARACTER VS REPUTATION
As many of us think about sports or any institution, I enjoy thinking about the job of a coach and how he/she has to inspire, motivate, engage along with coaching their respective players on the team. Most coaches may be blessed with great talent and great attitudes. But how do you empower that talent to win together as a team? Hopefully, you coaches out there are being proactive by building your coaching skills through deliberate and consistent practice. This can be leading a small group, coaching your kid’s soccer team, or teaching a Sunday school class. All of this starts with the coach, with a winning attitude, the love of what they are doing, and for the people that are entrusted in their care. If you are coaching, you need to have players that are “Coachable.”
As I look back on my own career, I had the honor and duty to “coach” a team of individuals in our agency. I tried hard NOT to make it about me but about the team. Not so much about the money but about the people. (It’s never about you anyway) It was my responsibility to find those players who were coachable yet had their own strengths and skills that added to the team. What I found was that many players wanted merely to be on the team. Once they made the team, nothing else mattered because they had “Made the team.” (Don’t rest on your laurels) I also found lots of talented people who wanted to belong but many that had a drive to be a better person, learn to play well on the team, and grow in their faith, their family and their career. It is difficult to encompass all facets of the game, but I especially enjoyed working with those who saw the bigger picture by working together as a team and were not on the team just for themselves. (Service to others) Yes, we are often defined by our individual career success. But I loved those team players who thought of others and who made an impact on the lives of those with less talent. Coachable team members.
Here are some of the “Coaching Skills” I wrote down over the years in an effort to build a great culture and a great team:
If you are the leader, it is YOUR responsibility to set a shared vision and move forward with C.A.R.E., love and hope.
- C is for connecting with the people we are supporting.
- A is helping each one of them to achieve results that are just over the hill. Just beyond what you can see from where you are standing.
- R is for respect, which we can give through our deep, undivided presence in every interaction.
- E is for empowerment. All of which helps empower our customers and associates to go out there and get what they want.
- As coaches, our job is to lead others towards THEIR potential, while supporting them to become leaders in their own lives.
- We need to create an inspiring vision for the team. (and individually) Where do they want to go? What do they really want? What are their ideas?
- Once the vision is clarified, it is up to the leader to challenge each of them to go BIG by inspiring hope in their ability to make it a reality. Then, you had better LOVE what you are doing and the people that you work with or you just may find that you will have lots of stress, anxiety, disappointment and regret. By following these principles, it will help you set a strong foundation for a successful relationship with yourself and your team.
Are YOU coachable? We all need to have enough humility, wisdom, self-mastery (Taming the Big Me), courage and love to operate effectively in this world. It is more enjoyable to win as a team than to win on your own. This harkens up my old saying of PROFUNMON. Be Professional, Have Fun, and the Money will follow. In that order.
Stay tuned as we are just scratching the surface as to what it takes to be a good coach and picking a good team. I don’t have all of the answers but I am learning along with you.
Elevator Guy
Quote for the Day: “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” John Wooden