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Showing posts from June, 2015

Four C’s Equal Better Performance

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Time and time again research indicates that team performance is based upon four important factors. These factors—the four C’s—must be understood and managed to achieve superior performance. Context. The need for teamwork, the culture, structure and systems that support teamwork. Team chemistry. Goals and reward systems Change . The team’s ability to monitor its performance and make changes as needed. Composition. Team members’ skills, roles, experience, and motivation as well as team size. Competencies . Strengths and weaknesses. The team’s ability to solve problems, communicate, make decisions, manage conflict, and handle different situation. Leaders of successful teams consistently evaluate and monitor the team’s context (goals, chemistry, etc.); are willing to change as needed; examine the team’s composition( member’s skills, contributions etc.); and are aware of the team’s  competencies (situational performance). Staff meetings should cover one of the four

Years To Build—Minutes To Destroy

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It’s always easier to find fault than to build up. Builders dedicate years to structures that can be destroyed in minutes by fire, natural disasters and vandals. Your people are much the same.  When you honor someone’s contributions in front of their teammates in a distinguished way, you build people. When you condemn them in front of their teammates, you destroy them. Use recognition liberally and your disparaging comments sparingly. Trust and confidence are built over time and with great care. They can be destroyed as quickly as any structure ever build.  It may take years to rebuild that trust again. Moments when you acknowledge people can help you build solid and valuable relationships. Take care to reserve sharp comments and criticism for one-on-one meetings. Recognition is public; criticism is private. —Adapted from The Carrot Principle: How the Best Managers Use Recognition to Engage Their People, Retain Talent, and Accelerate Performance

The Valvano Method To Building Confidence

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Former NC State head basketball coach and player Sidney Lowe reflecting on his Coach Jim Valvano: In the huddle, even with Coach V’s enthusiasm, when it was time to be calm he always spoke very positively. Whether it was about a guy we needed to stop or if we were going to shoot a free throw, he always said positive things. Now, what he would do after the other guys broke for the court, he would grab me and say something different. Like if he told Lorenzo or Cozell that they were going to make a foul shot like it had already happened he’d say to me, “Sidney, if he misses this thing, foul the first f*%$er you can.” Of course, I knew what he was doing. Here’s a situation—one game he told us that we had to take the open shot, and so if it’s there, we take it. “I want Sidney to penetrate and make something happen, find the open man, I don’t care who it is, just get it to the open man.” And as we are going out he stops me and says, “Now you know I want it to go to Thurl or Der

Tony LaRussa On Creating An Winning Atmosphere

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Former St. Louis Cardinal’s manager and hall of fame member, Tony LaRussa thinks the biggest challenge in leading a team today is having players fight through the distractions and concentrate on true professionalism. Even as low as the high school level of sports, players today get too distracted by the chance to make money, so they chase statistics and attention. So players really need to fight through all of that and really stress being as good a professional as they can be and the rest of the stuff falls in place. To assist in helping players manage these distractions LaRussa maintained a close relationship with Bob Ladouceur, the highly successful high school football coach at De La Salle High in Concord, CA. “From talking with Bob I learned so much about his relationships with the players and the importance of the process. The winning is a result of doing a lot of things right. He's really been great. I've tried to adjust some of our philosophies based on things or tip

Try To Avoid Saying “If I Were You”

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When a player or colleague comes to you with a problem, don’t preface your advice with “if I were you”. That locks the person into tackling the problem one way. It also can restrict the development of problem solving skills because the person is relying on you to fix the problem. A better way is to phrase your advice in terms that allow others to learn from your experience, not simply repeat it. They receive your advice then they go about solving the problem themselves. Example: “I remember having a similar problem once before. Would you like to know how I solved it?” or "Here are some things that I think will help you solve the problem you have." --Adapted from Real World Lessons in Leadership _____________________________________________________________________ Print Edition $24.99 Instant Download &19.99 Print & Download $31.99

In The June Issue Of The Coaching & Leadership Journal

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Here's what you will find in this month's issue of our Journal: ·           Fatherly advice from F. Scott Fitzgerald. ·           Thoughts for parents of athletes. ·           Leadership traps. ·           Program principles. ·           A Leadership profile of Terry Michler, America's all-time winningest soccer coach. ·           Great leaders and the career advice that shaped them. ·           How a player becomes a leader. ·           Why eye contact is important during your talks. ·           How Coach K wins consistently. ·           How to Improve pressure performance. ·           Hit the books--Leadership books summarized in one sentence . ·           19 hard things you need to do to be successful. ·           And More.... To subscribe or for more information visit The Leadership Publishing Team