High Performing Teams - Perspective

The Characteristics of High Performing Teams - Part 5

We had just lost to Amherst at home. My Rhode Island College team as very good, and Amherst was one of the elite teams in the country, having beaten us in the Elite 8 a few years earlier on the way to their first national title. Losing to Amherst wasn’t the end of the world, but we had a couple of other tough losses in January and we put an NCAA Tournament bid in danger. Beating Amherst would have been a huge win, one that likely would have put us in the Tournament. We didn’t pay well, and they handled us pretty good.

I rarely reacted emotionally after games, especially losses, preferring to watch the film and understand a lot more about how we played before drawing any conclusions. After this game, I was pretty down. We expected a lot better and this was a huge game for us, and we didn’t perform.

I walked into the locker room after the game and the players could tell I was pretty disappointed. We had put ourselves in a tough spot as far as just making the tournament, with our consecutive streak of 5 straight tournaments on the line. I let the players know we had dug ourselves a pretty big hole, and we had a lot of work to do to get out of it. But their response was interesting. They were obviously disappointed that we lost. But they didn’t seem like it was that big of a deal to them. They weren’t distraught. They were saying stuff like “we’ll see them again, well get them in the tournament.” I was thinking, what tournament??? We had a lot of work to do just to have a chance.

I remember we came back the next and we were really sharp at practice. Our guys were a little pissed off that we lost, but it didn’t impact our approach to work the next day. I felt a lot worse than they did. If it was up to me, that loss probably would have stung a little bit and changed our approach to practice a bit. But our players were confident in each other and what we did, and it was just time to get back to work. They had great perspective. And I learned a lot about that from them.

Their unique perspective was the attitude that they took towards losing. I learned, over time, that my best teams had a great relationship with losing. That doesn’t mean they accepted it or didn’t think winning was important. They just didn’t let losing have a negative impact on what they did next. They hated to lose, but it didn’t phase them to the point where they were making bad decisions moving forward.

Elite players and high performing teams have great perspective. They have a particular attitude toward what happens around them, and they are very balanced mentally.

Chris Paul

Chris Paul on why he chose to play for Skip Prosser at Wake Forest:

How did Wake Forest’s head coach Skip Prosser lure you to his program over others?

He was successful in recruiting me because he was real with me. When he came to see me play in high school, he would be like, “Man, you don’t play defense.” And I knew that if I wanted to become the player I hoped and strove to be, I would need people who were honest with me. I also learned early on that what the head coach thinks matters. At the end of the day, he determines your playing time.

High Performing Teams - Win Anyway

The Characteristics of High Performing Teams - Part 4

High performing teams refuse to make excuses. They cultivate an environment where excuses simply aren’t accepted. This can start with the coach, but eventually the caretakers of this mentality are the players. Everyone is uncomfortable when excuses or rationalizations come into play, to the point where it just stops happening. The players make each other uncomfortable when they start hearing excuses.

The phrase we used with our teams was Win Anyway. A lot of stuff happens during a season, big and small. Everyone deals with some form of adversity. You know what your job is? Win Anyway. You are missing a couple of starters due to injury? Win Anyway. The bus showed up late? Win Anyway. The officials are calling it too tight? Win Anyway.

Nobody wants to hear about the labor pains. They just want to see the baby. Everything that is happening to your team is happening to every team you play. Injuries, bad calls, unfortunate luck, a bus driver who gets lost. At the end of the game, there is a winner and a loser. And you know who cares about what happened to you or your team along the way? Nobody. Not one person. There are no accommodations made in the league standings for misfortune.

In 2010 when I was coaching at Rhode Island College we were playing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Oswego State in New York. We played very well and handled Penn State - Behrend in the first round, and we were set to play a really good Oswego team on their home floor the next day to go to the Sweet 16.

When we were sitting down for breakfast the morning of the game, our starting center limped in with only one shoe on and said “Coach, I don’t know what happened, but my foot is killing me.” He was a first-team all league center, and probably the best player on any of the four teams in the bracket that weekend. Our entire team looked at him in disbelief. He played the entire game the night before without an issue. He didn’t know what happened. But he woke up that next morning and could barely walk.

We got on the bus to go to shoot around and I felt awful as well. Everyone had the same feeling. How are we going to win this game without our best players? He tried to put his shoe on and said he wanted to play, but it was clear he couldn’t. Our guys were kind of sleepwalking through the shoot around, everyone feeling the air had left the balloon. So I called the guys together.

“Do you guys know what is happening next Friday night? Can anyone tell me?” They looked at me puzzled. “The Sweet 16. Next Friday night there are going to be 16 teams left with a chance to win the national championship. We are either going to be one of them, or we’re not. But nobody is going to be talking about who played and who didn’t. They are still going to play the Sweet 16 games, and either us or Oswego is going to be there. So who’s it going to be?”

“Mike isn’t going to play tonight. Carl will start, and Darius will play the 5 spot. What are we going to do? We’re going to Win Anyway, just like we always do. Everyone has to be prepared to play out of position and guard up. Mike is hurt. It happens. There’s nothing we can do about it. But we are going to the Sweet 16.”

You could see our guys perk up and their emotions change. We were all feeling sorry for ourselves, myself included. It was a huge blow. But we took pride in the way we competed and never making excuses. We played probably our best game of the season that night and beat Oswego in front of their home crowd going away. We laced them up the next weekend in the Sweet 16.

No one cares what happened to you or your team. Win Anyway.

High Performing Teams - Embrace Conflict

The Characteristics of High Performing Teams - Part 4

Conflict is an essential and unavoidable part of leadership. High performing teams learn to embrace conflict.

Great teams, great leaders, and great organizations have to learn to embrace conflict because they have to confront bad behavior. On the best teams I have been a part of, the players took on this responsibility.

Failure to confront bad behavior spreads like a cancer and takes down teams all of the time. I’ve always said to my teams that whatever you are willing to walk past, that is your new standard. If guys are screwing around in the weight room and nobody says anything to them, that becomes acceptable. That’s your new standard. If guys are jogging back on defense and the team lets it go, they’ll get used to it. That behavior has to be confronted, or it will become normal.

It’s not going to be comfortable. Most people run from conflict. It’s the easy and safe play. Don’t bother confronting it, just move on and forget about it and hope the behavior goes away. That approach can really poison the environment for your team. Communicate regularly with your team about how you are going to resolve conflict. Come up with a game plan for how you are going to disagree, and don’t ever let communication be an issue with your team.

Conflict needs to be embraced. By that, it should be accepted and expected as part of the operation. It’s not like you are walking around looking for things to fight about. But great organizations give people the freedom to be themselves and express their opinions - and teams should act the same way. When that happens, you have a safe environment where risks will be taken and that will lead to great progress. But there will be disagreements, and that is okay. Learn to embrace conflict and figure out a resolution path for your team, and you’ll open up another door towards elite success.

Bill Parcells

In 1983, Bill Parcells led the New York Giants to a 3-12-1 season. The Giants wanted to fire him. They even offered his job to Howard Schnellenberger, but he declined. So the Giants brought Parcells back. He knew that he had nothing to lose, so he changed everything going into that offseason. Parcells lacked confidence in his first year. He was tentative, he didn't confront players, and he didn't connect. As a result, he didn't have the players' respect. He realized that he had to lead and take charge.

He said, "To lead, you’ve got to be a leader. That may sound obvious, but it took me an entire year to learn - and it wasn’t a pleasant year." That is when the team started to turn it around in 1984.

His 3 Leadership Actions to Change the Culture:

1. Accountability - He told the team that losing was no longer tolerated. He was going to confront players on their performance and hold people accountable. Bill said, "The only way to change people is to tell them in the clearest possible terms what they’re doing wrong. And if they don’t want to listen, they don’t belong on the team."

2. Values and Purpose - The team had to focus on achievement. Bill told the team that achievement comes from relentless effort and commitment. He said, "It wasn’t going to be easy, but at the end of the day, achievement would be the most important thing they would take home with them." He connected the purpose to the players and anchored the team on values and that purpose.

3. Connection - He would spend time connecting with players and coaches 1-on-1. He needed to build credibility and respect. That meant being honest and communicating with everyone. He said, "I’ve found that holding frank, one-on-one conversations with every member of the organization is essential to success."

In 1984, Bill Parcells led the Giants to the playoffs and a 9-7 record. 2 years later, he won his first Super Bowl. He is known as one of the best NFL coaches of all-time and for his ability to turn around teams.

Takeaway 1: Leadership is about your behavior. You can see the difference in how he led the team in Year 1 vs. Year 2. He effectively communicated, connected with his players, held people accountable, and anchored the team on specific values and purpose. When you show the way and lead the way then people trust you and follow.

Takeaway 2: You have to be yourself. People know immediately when you are faking it. You have to do it your way with your personality and style. Parcells learned that in year 1. He knew that if he was going to get fired, he needed to at least try winning in the way that best fit him which meant connecting and being tougher.

"I’m convinced that if you get people onto your team who share the same goals and the same passion, and if you push them to achieve at the highest level, you’re going to come out on top." - Bill Parcells

• From @Coachajkings

High Performing Teams - Uncommon Leadership

The Characteristics of High Performing Teams - Part 3

High performing teams have uncommon leadership. Most good teams have great leadership, but that is different. The best teams I have been around have uncommon leadership - meaning, they use a different model. Everyone on the team leads, and they do it in a way that fits their personality.

The traditional top-down leadership model is not the best way to get the most out of a team. When you have one or two voices at the top who are charged with leading the team, you won’t get the best out of everyone. I’ve coached plenty of teams that had juniors and seniors who weren’t great leaders, and younger players who were natural leaders. Having two or three captains who are expected to lead the team only increases the odds that you’ll have some of the wrong guys speaking up while you are also stifling the leadership from other players.

The best teams learn to accept a different approach to leadership. It’s okay for an older player who is a starter and a producer to not be comfortable with traditional leadership. It’s also okay for a younger player to speak up when the time is right. As a coach, you have to steer them in the right direction. Create a model where everyone can lead, and everyone does it in a way to fit their personality.

Ask a lot of questions of your players, and explore the curiosity each one of them have for their teammates. Get to know how they can contribute leadership. to your team, and create an environment where they are comfortable. doing so. Every one of them is a gatekeeper to your culture, and they all have to uphold the standards every day. Find a definition of leadership that works for your team and fits your approach.

Our definition was that leadership was making the people around you better and more productive, and it was the responsibility of everyone. The senior leading scorer doesn’t have more responsibility then the freshmen back-up post player. Now, he has different experience than that freshmen does, so he may be able to contribute in a different way. Treat leadership as a skill, not a rank.

I’d seriously consider the traditional model of naming a couple of guys captains at the beginning of the year. How does that impact your team? It’s hard to know you are getting the most out of your leaders when you dictate who is allowed to lead and who is supposed to listen. The few leading the many isn’t as powerful as a team that leads from the middle, where everyone has a voice.

Leadership is constantly evolving and highly situational. The model you use has to fit your approach and your team. But don’t just stick to a traditional model because that’s what you’ve always seen. Embrace an uncommon approach and discover the best way to get the most out of your team. High performing teams, teams that sustain elite success, embrace an uncommon approach to leadership.

Consistency

Quick take on the value of Consistency.

“Not being consistent will guarantee that you won’t be successful.”

High Performing Teams - Ownership

The Characteristics of High Performing Teams - Part 2

Compliant teams do what they are told. Committed teams take ownership of their culture. High performing teams take ownership of their behavior every day, and the standards are established by the players.

Compliant teams can be very good. If they have talent and a smart coach, they’ll have a chance. The coach tells them what to do, they follow their coaches lead and they get a lot accomplished. The problem is the ceiling is lower for compliant teams. They do what they are supposed to do, but they don’t take ownership. It’s something they are doing for the coach, and to try and win, but it’s not something they are doing for each other.

The trick about building a committed team that takes ownership, however, is that the coach has to give the players the space to do it. Most players are trained to do what the coach tells them. They are waiting for direction. They have to be given the freedom to take control of what happens every day once they know what the standards are, and what is expected of them. It’s on the coach to build a culture of ownership, and wants that is established the players can take control of it.

I’ve always said the best feeling I’ve had as a head coach - when I knew we were really good - was when I would blow my whistle in practice, and before i could get the whistle out of my mouth I heard players talking. They knew what was expected, they knew what was coming and they were already talking about what needed to be done to get better. “Not good enough, let’s go. Do it again.” They start leading each other, because they know what it’s supposed to look like and it matters to them. They hold each other accountable to the standards, and they don’t have to wait for the coach’s direction to do it. It’s an incredibly powerful feeling as a coach, to see your culture evolve under the direction of your players.

How do you create a culture of ownership amongst your players? Ask a lot of questions. Get your players feedback. Instead of constantly making declarative statements to your team (“You can’t make that pass there!”, ask them questions (“What did you see there?”). When something goes wrong ask your players how they are going to fix it (“What are going to do about it?”). Ask them how much it matters to them, ask them who they want to be as a group. Keep asking questions. When they tell your the answers, listen to them. And remind them that the standards are theirs, and they had to live up to them.

A lot of teams struggle to get to this level, and it has a lot to do with the coach’s ego. Creating ownership is not about giving up power or letting the players make all of the decisions. You are still in charge. In fact, you’ll build even more confidence in your leadership style from your players by giving them a voice. Many of us are still stuck on the idea of the old school coach who tells the kids to jump and expects them to ask how high. Dictating to your team everything they are supposed to do may feel comfortable, but it isn’t the best way to get the most out of them.

Now the kids have to take on a lot of responsibility for ownership as well. The team, and the standards they set, have to really matter to them. If they don’t really care, and they are just trying to get through practice every day, their really won’t be a lot of internal accountability or leadership. They can’t take ownership if it doesn’t mean a lot to them. That has to be established within the culture first. And they players have to learn how to handle the ownership they are given. They have to address the things that need to be addressed, and they have to think about what really matters to them on a day to day basis. Whatever they let go, that sets a new standard, because it becomes acceptable to the rest of the team.

Ownership is a collaboration between the team and the coaching staff. It’s an understanding that starts with clear standards and expectations, and knowing what behavior is expected. A culture of ownership is not about the slogans you put on the wall or a shooting shirt, it is about the behaviors displayed every day. Your players becomes the stewards of that behavior.

High performing teams take ownership of their standards and their culture. They take ownership of what happens every day, and their coach has to give them the space to do so.

The Cost of Leadership

Georgia coach Kirby Smart talks about 3 things that come with being a leader.

The Cost of Leadership

High Performing Teams - Highly Conditional

The Characteristics of High Performing Teams - Part 1

There are conditions to being a part of an elite team. There are established standards that everyone has to live up to, and just as importantly everyone has to enforce. There are no free rides. Everyone is expendable if they refuse to live up to the standards.

I’ve talked a lot about how we use the word family. Just about every team, every school, every organization uses the word, and I don’t really like it. I think being a part of a TEAM is really special, and a lot of ways that gets lost or isn’t celebrated enough. My love for my family is unconditional. Being a part of a high performing team is HIGHLY conditional. There are conditions. There are standards. Everyone knows what they are, and everyone has to meet them.

I love everyone in my family, and when they are late for Thanksgiving dinner, there are no consequences. They didn’t let us down. They just showed up late. I’m happy to have a beer with them on Thanksgiving and watch some football with them, and we’ll have a great time. But I’m not trying to win with them.

If somebody shows up late for practice, we have a problem. High performing teams have a problem. It doesn’t mean they are getting kicked off the team. But whether or not we can count on you, that really matters. It’s not just one guy being a few minutes late. It’s that we aren’t sure we can count on you. That’s why there are standards. If you don’t live up to our standards, trust starts to erode. And that’s a big problem for high performing teams.

Teams are different. They aren’t families. These aren’t your co-workers. Teammate really means something. Not only are we investing in one another and counting on one another to live up to a high standard, we are literally investing sweat, energy and effort - physical effort - to make it work. Law firms don’t get up in the morning and run sprints together. Hospital staffs don’t lift weights together during the summer instead of going to the beach. Teams are different. They are different than any other group or “team” you will be a part of. Teams are special, because the investment is both mental and physical, and you have to give everything you’ve got.

Being a part of a team is conditional. Your membership depends on your approach - as do your teammates. High performing teams have high standards, and the conditions are not easy. That’s part of the deal. The standards are set and every detail matters. The head coach may lay them out, but the players are the true gatekeepers. They embrace the conditions and hold each other accountable to the standards.

Membership on a high performing team is exclusive. It’s incredibly challenging but also incredibly rewarding. Understand that being a part of a team is special, and there is nothing else like it. Embrace the fact that the standards are high and the conditions are tough.

High Performing Teams

High performing teams share some unique characteristics. I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of some elite teams. I’ve also faced the challenge of coaching some awful teams. Both experiences gave me a unique perspective on the make up of elite high performing teams.

Last week I spoke to the student-athletes at Salve Regina about the characteristics of high performing teams. Below is an outline of some of the most important elements that are crucial for high performance. Over the coming weeks I’ll expand on these points in more detail

High performing teams are highly conditional. They are not families. They are teams. There are conditions required for membership, and many of those conditions are very demanding. They are not for everyone.

High performing teams take ownership. They are not compliant. They are committed.

High performing teams have uncommon leadership. They are led internally, using a non-traditional model. Leadership comes from the middle.

High performing teams communicate directly and embrace confrontation. Communication can never be an issue. They are brutally honest and refuse to accept bad behavior.

High performing teams never make excuses. They Win Anyway.

High performing teams find great perspective. They have a particular, intentional attitude towards what happens to them. They have a relationship with losing.

High performing teams have an unbreakable trust. They create a safe environment where no one is afraid to fail.

Derek Jeter/Zach Johnson

Zach Johnson asks Derek Jeter about his leadership approach.

https://twitter.com/ChampionsTour/status/1696531306900005215?s=20

Humility, Clarity, Courage

There are three essentials to leadership: humility, clarity and courage. ~ Fuchan Yuan

There are hundreds of different definitions of leadership, and to me leadership is very personal. Your approach has to fit who you are, the behavior you model and the core values you believe in. I’ve always loved this quote. Leadership is a lot of different things to different people, but leaders have certain characteristics.

The best leaders are clear, courageous and humble. And great leadership isn’t easy, which means always being clear, courageous and humbles isn’t that simple. Think about how you coach your team. i think most of us think it’s important to be clear. That’s pretty basic. But how do we go about it? A lot of coaches think being clear is yelling the same thing louder, rather than slowing it down and explaining it.

I’m not sure how much coaches think about being courageous or being humble. A lot of us are driven by the power that comes with being in charge, and our egos grow. I think most people respond better to a humble leader, rather than to arrogance, but again it isn’t easy. We want to be in command and control and with that I think humility often goes out the window.

Courage is another element that probably doesn’t cross our mind enough as head coaches. I used the word courage with my players a lot, and to be effective they had to see a courageous coach. Am I willing to take the necessary risks for us to be great? Will I start the walk-on who brings it every day and is tough as nails when the starter isn’t locked in? Will I leave the freshmen on the floor late in the second half to close out a game when he is outplaying the starter? It’s so easy to stay with the decisions that are comfortable, that won’t get criticized, but it takes courage to be great. I’m not sure we think about the courage we need to display as the head coach to get our team playing without fear.

Great leaders have a lot of different characteristics and there is no one set formula that fits everyone. But if you are humble, clear and courageous your approach will resonate with your players and enhance their belief in your approach.

Model The Behavior

“Leading by example is exceedingly hard. Not because leaders can’t set a strong example others will follow, but rather because truly leading by example requires near-perfect consistency. Any deviation, exception, hypocrisy, or departure from the example negates whatever made it so worth following to begin with.

A leader who displays and acts with integrity can’t do so 99 percent of the time and still serve as an example. It’s 100 percent or nothing when it comes to illustrating for others what we hope they will emulate. 

Team members and colleagues watch leaders like hawks. They zoom in on what leaders do with great consistency and purpose. When they have immense respect for those leaders, they learn from their example.”  - Admired Leaders

I’ve always said the biggest difference between being an assistant coach and becoming a head coach is that, as a head coach, you are always “on.” You are always the guy expected to provide direction, answer the questions and set the tone. As soon as your kids see you walk into the gym, they are looking at you for cues (I once had a graduating senior tell me that he’d look at the color of the quarter zip I was wearing and know what type of mood I was in that day). They are reading your body language, the tone of your voice, and every other move you make. Like it or not, when you are in charge you are sending a message as soon as you walk in the room.

What type of team do you want to have? If you want them to be tough, smart, disciplined and composed - do they see that behavior in their head coach? If you want energy, excitement and intensity at practice every day, they need to see it from you. When you look at your team, like it or not, you are looking in the mirror. If they are unprepared and undisciplined, I’d take a look at the behavior they are seeing from you.

The most important thing as a coach that you can do is model the behavior you want to see from your team. You are always leading by example, and it only takes one situation where you show some inconsistency to lose their trust. If you want to see it from them, they need to see it from you.

Influence, Not Authority

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” - Ken Blanchard

What is your approach with your team? To influence them, or have authority over them?

The traditional coaching and leadership model is I’m in charge, I tell you what to do. Ask yourself if that is the best way to get the most out of your players. The best leaders give control to their team and teach them how to solve the problems they will face. The best coaches do the same.

Your influence is very powerful, your authority not as much as you think.

Transcending the Environment

https://twitter.com/WDWconvo/status/1525993080205230081?s=20&t=Ojc7HD3fPAozMtT7aAtyMg

Tell Them What To Say

I don’t think any team communicates enough if you ask their coaches. We are always pleading with our teams to talk more. Every team I’ve coached hasn’t talked enough to satisfy their coaching staff, to the point where it must be harder than we think. It’s not natural for a lot of guys to communicate openly and consistently, especially when they have a job to do in the middle of an intense game. It’s simply not that easy to get players to talk, or we wouldn’t be complaining about it all of the time.

It’s hard for a lot of players to do their job and talk to their teammates at the same time. Not everyone can handle it. We can’t just simply yell at them constantly to talk more. They need to know what to say.

I think this is a point a lot of us miss. If you want your team to communicate more, tell them what to say. They need to know the language, and it needs to be simple. One word cues. “Help.” “Blitz.” “Left.” “Right.” Don’t expect your guys to have a full conversation with their teammates. If you make it too complicated for them to talk, you are only making it harder.

Simply yelling and screaming at your team to “Talk!” isn’t helping them. For most, it doesn’t come naturally. Develop your own team language, using as many one word cues as you can. It can be something that your players take ownership of, that becomes their own. But make sure you tell your team what to say. It will make them a lot more comfortable talking on the court, and ease some of your frustration with your team’s lack of communication.

Interview - The Coaching Ladder

I had a fun conversation with the guys from The Coaching Ladder this week.

https://twitter.com/CoachBobWalsh/status/1686148498616467456?s=20

Decisive

“It’s more important to be decisive than to be right.” - Brad Faxon, 8-time PGA Tour winner, talking about putting.

I was at Manhattan’s summer workout yesterday watching John Gallagher with his new team, and they were focused on offensive execution. Gal has always been a great offensive coach, his teams running fluid motion with great spacing and relying on skill and sharing the basketball. With only 2 returning players on his roster his team was far from perfect, but they had a very good idea of the spacing and timing needed to be hard to guard.

The offense involves a lot of reads, with the ball movement and the cutters dictating what happens next. The offensive players have a lot of freedom to read the defense and. make the right play. Gallagher was constantly teaching his guys how to make the right play, not run the play. One word that kept coming out of his mouth was “decisive.” He kept telling his team they had to be decisive on offense, because the decision made by the ball would dictate the rest of the action.

It reminded me of the above quote from Brad Faxon, something I read early in my career as a head coach and have repeated to my teams ever since. It is more important to be decisive than to be right. It always resonated with me and fit exactly what I was trying to get out of my teams. But I usually find myself saying it on the defensive end, not the offensive end. When it comes to help, attacking the ball, rotations, and all of the the things that need to be in sync to have a great defense, I wanted my guys to be decisive. I didn’t want them to worry about being right.

I had never really thought about the term on the offensive end, but it’s applicable as well, especially if you aren’t a set play guy and you want your guys making plays. We are trying to score on offense, we are not trying to run the play. I want our guys to have the freedom and confidence to do so. If they are too worried about being “right” - and pleasing the head coach - they aren’t going to react properly and make the right play. I want playmakers on offense, guys who aren’t afraid to make mistakes.

It’s more important to be decisive than to be right. On both offense and defense, the committed action of one player tells all of the other ones where they need to be. Get your guys to be decisive - and top worrying about being right - and you’ll have a much more confident team.

Josh Merkel - Randolph Macon

A terrific podcast with Josh Merkel, a national championship winning coach at Randolph-Macon. Well worth your time.

Culture and Confidence Podcast with Jeremy Mellady