GUIDELINES TO FOSTER RESPECT

I came across this via Twitter from Chris Turner and it will make our Team Notebook. It is a passage from John Maxwell and his website: http://johnmaxwellonleadership.com:

A few years ago, I read an article about a young man who, at age 23, went to work as the senior pastor of his first church. He found the experience very intimidating because he was to be the spiritual leader of people who had children and grandchildren older than he was.

How did he handle it? By showing his people respect and asking them to treat them in kind. To make his standard clear to everyone, he shared ten rules for respect that he promised to live by, and he asked his people to do the same.

Here are his rules:

1. If you have a problem with me, come to me (privately).

2. If I have a problem with you, I’ll come to you (privately).

3. If someone has a problem with me and comes to you, send them to me. (I’ll do the same for you.)

4. If someone consistently will not come to me, say, “Let’s go see him together.” (I’ll do the same for you.)

5. Be careful how you interpret me. On matters that are unclear, do not feel pressured to interpret my feelings or thoughts. It is easy to misinterpret intentions.

6. I will be careful how I interpret you.

7. If it’s confidential, don’t tell. If anyone comes to me in confidence, I won’t tell unless

..... (a) the person is going to harm him/herself;

..... (b) the person is going to physically harm someone else;

.....(c) a child has been physically or sexually abused. I expect the same from you.

8. I do not read unsigned letters or notes.

9. I do not manipulate; I will not be manipulated. Do not let others manipulate you; do not let others try to manipulate me through you.

10. When in doubt, just say it. If I can answer without misrepresenting something or breaking a confidence, I will.

His story intrigued me because I had faced a similar situation early in my career. The young pastor’s list reflected what I’d learned in my own experience.

Most people greatly desire the respect of their leaders. And when leaders give it freely, I believe it creates a very positive relational environment. As author Alfred Glasow said, “The respect of those you respect is worth more than the applause of the multitude.”

DELEGATING FOR IMPROVEMENT

I love this post by Brian Tracy, "Six Steps to Effective Delegation." Obviously it is some great advice for a head coach in working his staff. But I also saw it as a way to systematically work with your team -- especially in the off-season or for when they are working along on their game. I have added some comments in GOLD as to how I think you could adapt it:

To delegate effectively in your work with others, there are six steps that you can take. If you neglect any one of these steps, you run the risk of miscommunication, misunderstanding, demoralization, and poor performance.

Step 1: Match the Person to the Job
One of the great time wasters in the world of work is delegating the task to the wrong person. Often the task is delegated to a person who is not capable of doing it properly or getting it done on schedule. Often players don't fully understand exactly the things they need to work on to improve. What specifically can they do as a player (and improve upon as a player0 that will make your team better.

Step 2: Agree on what is to be done
Once you have selected the right person for the job, take the time to discuss the job with the person and agree upon what must be done. The more time you talk to discuss and agree upon the end result or objective-the more effort you make to achieve absolute clarity-the faster the job will be done once the person starts on it. Meet with the player and be clear on what your expectations are in terms of the area needed to work on as well as the amount of improvement needed.

Step 3: Explain how the Job Should Be Done
Explain to the person your preferred approach or method of working. Explain how you would like to see the job done, and how you or someone else has done it successfully in the past. It is important that you are detailed with a player. Don't just say "you need to work on your shooting," -- be specific. "You need to work on shooting off the ball screen. I want you to tighten up the jab step and make a lower sweep with the ball upon transfer. Look to come of the screen with a hard dribble that gets you somewhere and finish your shot with your shoulders squared." It would be a excellent to have video for the player to see her areas that she needs for improvement as well as some clips showing a player properly executing the move.

Step 4: Have Your Employee Repeat Back Instructions
Ask the person to feed your instructions back to you in her own words. Have him or her explain to you what you have just explained and agreed upon. This is the only way that you can be sure that the other person actually understands the job or assignment he or she has been delegated to accomplish. Don't just tell a player what she needs to be doing. Create a dialogue to ensure she understands what, why and how.

Step 5: Set a Deadline
Set a deadline and schedule for completion of the task. At the same time, arrange for regular reporting and periodic inspection. Invite feedback and questions if there are any delays or problems. Talk to the player about the amount of time you think will be needed to work to get the desired amount of improvement.

Step 6: Manage by Exception
Managing by exception is a powerful time management tool that you use to work more efficiently with other people. If the job is on track and on schedule, managing by exception means that the person does not have to report back to you. If you don't hear from him, you can assume that everything is going well. The individual only has to report back to you when an exception occurs and there is a problem with getting the job done on time, to the agreed upon level of quality. I would alter this a little. If a player comes back on track or ahead of schedule in terms of improvement, I'd add something to continue to raise the bar and push forward.

Action Exercise
Sit down with your staff members and explain to them exactly why they are on the payroll and what their highest value tasks are. This is very important. Don't just talk to a player about what they need to work on but explain why and the amount of value it will bring, not only to improving their game but improving their team.

JIMBO FISHER ON PROCESS

"It goes back to the process. If we want to win, what are we doing to prepare to win? How are we preparing our bodies, how are we preparing our minds? How are we preparing to be a teammate and understanding what being a teammate is? If those things take place, the big things come. We have talented players. Do we have the most? I don't know that, but I don't think we have the least. I think we know we're pretty good. Getting the mind right, and getting them to understand and care for each other and take ownership of each other, that's crucial."

-JIMBO FISHER

Read ESPN.com article at: http://es.pn/9TYmYR

KEVIN SIVILS RULES FOR SHOT SELECTION

Got this from Coach Kevin Sivils' basketball newsletter. Sign up to get on the mailing lise at: http://www.kcsbasketball.com/

1) Shooting is not an equal opportunity skill. The best shooters get to take the bulk of the shots.

2) Every player must be able to make lay-ups and free throws or they should not be on the court.

3) Players must recognize they are open and get ready to shoot before receiving the ball.

4) Do not take a good shot and turn it into a bad one! This means don’t take a shot that is open, within shooting range and ruin it by rushing it, shooting with bad form, not being squared up or any other means by which a player can ruin a shot.

5) What defines both an open shot and a good shot is different for every player. Make sure your players individually recognize what is both a good and open shot for that individual player.

6) Players don’t get to shoot just because they want to.

7) Did I say shooting is not an equal opportunity skill?

8) Some shots that are good shots early in the game are not good shots late in the game when protecting a lead. Take the time to teach shot selection and constantly reinforce it practice. Games are a bad time to punish a player for poor shot selection, but sometimes a coach must sit a player down for just that reason. The teaching principle that applies here is that players cannot be expected to do something that has not been both taught AND emphasized in practice.

ULTIMATE COACHES CLINIC: DEAN SMITH

In 2008, Pat Williams, the GM of the Orlando Magic and a tremendous motivational speaker put out a book, "The Ultimate Coaches' Clinic." It is a fascinating book because of the style Pat utilized. He surveyed over 1000 coaches and administrators for insights to what is important to successfully do their job. From time to time I will share a few but it is a great book to own and I highly recommend it. Here are some thoughts from Dean Smith:

1. Building a team takes patience and planning. There are no shortcuts. Repeat drills until good habits are established.

2. Reward unselfish behavior, and profusely praise those acts you want to see repeated.

3. Play hard; play together; play smart.

4. Spell out the importance of team play. One man who fails to do his job unselfishly can undermine the efforts of the four other players on the court. Team goals supersede individual goals. Team success makes each individual stronger.

GAME CHANGERS: FIVE STRATEGIES FOR ELIMINATING BAD HABITS

The following comes from Darren Hardy's outstanding book, "The Compound Effect."

Your habits are learned; therefore, they can be unlearned. If you want to sail your life in a new direction, you have to first pick up the anchors of bad habits that have been weighing you down. The key is to make your why-power so strong that it overwhelms your urges for instant gratification. And for that, you need a new game plan. The following are my all-time favorite game changers:

1. Identify Your Triggers

Look at your list of bad habits. For each one you’ve written down, identify what triggers it. Figure out what I call “The Big 4’s”—the “who,” the “what,” the “where,” and the “when” underlying each bad behavior.

....

2. Clean House

Get to scrubbin’. And I mean this literally and figuratively. If you want to stop drinking alcohol, remove every drop of it from your house (and your vacation house, if you have one). Get rid of the glasses, any fancy utensils or doo-dads you use when you drink, and those decorative olives, too.

3. Swap It

Look again at your list of bad habits. How can you alter them so that they’re not as harmful? Can you replace them with healthier habits or drop-kick them altogether? As in, for good.

....

4. Ease In

I live near the Pacific Ocean. Whenever I get in the water, I get my ankles acclimated first, then walk in up to my knees, then it’s my waist and chest, before taking the plunge.

5. Or Jump In

Not everyone is wired the same way. Some researchers have found that it can be paradoxically easier for people to make lifestyle changes if they change a great many bad habits at once.

This is a great book that comes with CD set: http://bit.ly/bFZNdt

WORK = CONFIDENCE

"With accomplishments

comes confidence

and with confidence

comes belief.

It has to be in that order."

- Mike Krzyzewski -

PETE NEWELL'S RULE FOR WINNING BASKETBALL

Speaks to how you play offensively and defensively:

"Get better shots than

your opponent and get more

of those better shots."

TEACH YOUR PLAYERS TO LISTEN

The following comes from Ernie Woods via Creighton Burns:

"Be sure to teach players to listen. Demand and get eye contact of all players prior to speaking. It is imperative that any time a coach talks everyone listens (including assistant coaches). Also, make sure that the entire coaching staff is well coordinated and uses the same offensive and defensive terminology. Do not over coach and keep instructions simple. Talk to players’ level. Whenever possible, use short descriptive terms. Clarify rather than confuse. Tell players what you are going to teach them, teach them, and tell them what you taught them."

I'm not sure we can emphasize this more. Sure, you want to teach players to defend, feed the post, blockout and take good shots. But ALL of this is preceded by their ability to listen. There can be no mistake that the better a player listens, the better player they will become. Some keys that we do at LSU to help in this manner include:

1. Demand eye contact

This means everyone when you the coach is speaking but it is just as important that everyone has great eye contact when a player is speaking.

2. Keep terminology simply and consistent

Don't have one coach say "box out" and the other say "blockout." Make sure your entire staff and team are on the same page. During my time with Dale Brown we always had a "basketball glossary" in our team notebooks and we are going to start that back with our Lady Tiger team this fall.

3. Test the process

Speak to the team and then stop and ask someone to repeat what they heard. Bob Knight used to have a mock timeout and then pass out index cards to his team so they can write down what they heard.

4. Never assume

Don't believe because it was said that is was heard. Skip Bertman, the utlra-successful baseball coach at LSU would always say "repetition is good." Don Meyer would talk about "check, check and re-check."

THE GOAL OF NEVER ENDING IMPROVEMENT

“We have an innate desire to endlessly learn, grow, and develop. We want to become more than what we already are. Once we yield to this inclination for continuous and never-ending improvement, we lead a life of endless accomplishments and satisfaction."

-Chuck Gallozzi