Thursday, July 2, 2015

A FEW KEYS TO MANNING'S SUCCESS: SITTING UP FRONT AND ASKING WHY

Here is an excerpt of an article written by Lindsay H. Jones for USA TODAY.  You can read the entire article here.  It speaks to one of the more profound changes in teaching over the past decade.  I grew up (true I'm getting up there in the years) when a player or child asked "Why" and they were told "Because I said so."  But the ability of someone to understand the why can go a long way in creating better understanding, trust and execution.  Here is just a part of Jone's column:

Over the past two weeks, new Denver Broncos coach Gary Kubiak has gotten used to one word coming from the quarterbacks' meeting room: Why?

As Kubiak works to install a new playbook, quarterback Peyton Manning wants to know the reasons behind everything. Every new play and each new idea must have a purpose.

"Great players ask why," Kubiak said Tuesday after the first day of the Broncos' first veteran minicamp.

To Kubiak, seeing the five-time MVP in the front row of the classroom reminds him of his first years as an offensive coordinator in Denver, when quarterback John Elway and tight end Shannon Sharpe, a pair of Hall of Famers, were the star pupils asking the same question.

"Believe me, they asked why a lot," Kubiak said. "That's what great players do. You better have those answers for them so that they can go compete. That's what you want."