The Team Leadership Report

“Uni-form” means “one-form” which a leader should strive for. Getting members to sacrifice individuality for the benefit of the whole team should be the goal of all who wear the same uniform. A team’s order is established through the team members’ respect for the leader. A leader who knows how to manage people must first know how to handle his power. A position of authority does not suggest that the leader be a dictator. Authority does imply that “The buck stops” with the person in power. Philosophy, parameters and final decisions reside with that person but policy should not be made or applied arbitrarily. A leader who knows how to manage team members can direct their efforts toward a common goal—a goal established by the leader. This goal becomes the team’s credo. “What we stand for” and “What we want and how we go about pursuing it.” The credo should be the leader’s first order of business. —Adapted from Coaching the Mental Game by H.A. Dorfman     Coaching t

  It’s not me; it's us.   Great teammates always stress that their performance is always less than the team’s performance, and they are not satisfied unless team wins. I've got your back. On great teams individuals don't have to worry about failure or if something goes wrong. They know someone will always raise their efforts to pick someone up who is not having their best night. It's not your fault. No one is ever to blame. On poor performing teams when something bad happens the blame game quickly follows. Great team members deflect blame and never do they throw someone under the bus. I believe in my team and my coaches. When times get rough, many people lose their belief and confidence in one another, instead of rallying with one another through the tougher times. My teammates make me better. Great teams push each other and great teammates always respect that. It's okay that we disagree but it doesn't mean I dislike you. We were all born with a

12 O’clock Rule. When you lose a game, feel sorry for yourself, be mad at your players, etc., but at midnight, you have to move on and get your team ready to play the next day. Get past mad. Don’t hold grudges against your players. Your job is to get the team ready for the next game, especially after a loss. Make it a one day story. Never get into a fight with a person who buys ink by the barrel. Don’t argue with the media, you can’t win. Don’t make them one of your enemies. It will turn into several days instead of one. All decisions are 50/50. We all want to be right all of the time, but in reality the best you should ever expect to be is right 50% of the time. We would take Isiah out of the game and VJ would go in and make 5 shots in a row and you would think that by putting one of the NBA’s greatest players back in would be a no brainer, but only 50% of the time it is. Trust your instincts and knowledge when you make your decisions. Coaching is like flying an airplane, the

"Well done is better than well said." We all know people who constantly talk about the things they are going to do but rarely ever take that first step. Eventually people begin to question their credibility. Taking action and seeing the task through to completion is the only way to get the job done. "Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today." With an impressive list of achievements to his credit, Benjamin Franklin was not a man hung up on procrastination. He was a man with clear measurable goals who worked hard to turn his vision into reality. "By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." You need a plan to accomplish your goals. Charging in without giving any thought to the end result and how to achieve it, is a sure way to fall flat on your face. "When you're finished changing, you're finished."  Change is inevitable. The stronger we fight against it, the more time and energy it consumes. "All man