Monthly Archives: June 2015

How To Turn Around An Underperforming Team

Coaching strategy

turnaroundsource

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, then you know I’m a huge fan of TEDtalks. I just watched a great one by a principle of an epically underperforming school. Linda Cliatt-Wayman’s talk gives details about just how bad the situation at the school was when she arrived…and it’s depressing.

But for those of you out there who are taking over a team that has historically underachieved or are looking to turn around the fortunes of the team you coach, her talk should be inspiration for you. Paraphrasing one of many awesome points from her talk for our purposes, low expectations from coaches play a major role in the destruction of a team’s culture.

So how do we fight the inertia of low expectations? Here are the three points to she said helped guide the amazing turnaround of her failing school.

3 Steps To Turn Around Your Underachieving Team

  1. If you’re going to lead, LEAD. First things first, assemble the best leadership team you can…assistants, captains, etc. Cliatt-Wayman emphasized the importance of not hiding from the problem and being able to change things that aren’t working. At their best, leaders make the impossible possible. She also discussed making sure her students knew what her non-negotiables were…what are yours? Mine are athletes who walk in the gym and don’t put their teammates first and don’t bring a competitive mindset.
  2. So What? Now What? Of her three main points, this one is my favorite. She says the primary responsibility a leader of an underperforming team has is to eliminate excuses. When I think of times when my team hasn’t reached their goals, there were always many excuses and not many players accepting responsibility. Cliatt-Wayman’s point is to challenge our athlete’s view of the problem…so what we have a lot of injuries, what are you going to do to step up? So what you lost your starting spot, how much harder are you willing to work to earn it back?
  3. If nobody told you they loved you today, remember I do. Our players need to know that we care about them as people and not just what they bring to the team. It’s our job to believe in the possibilities of our athletes. So whether you have organized meetings, text/call your players, or use your warmup time to chat with your athletes, taking time to get to know them will make everyone’s experience much better.

I certainly am not here to say that turning around an underperforming team will be easy, but it can be done. Have a plan, have high expectations, and care about your athletes.

Being On A Team Isn’t Always Fun…And That’s Okay

Team chemistry,

Find-Your-Voicesource

There was a time when I felt frustrated by my lack of voice at a particular place of employment. Those two things (frustration combined with lack of voice) are tough to overcome and can lead to malaise, a bad attitude, and a desire to look for greener pastures. Those things, in turn, can then lead to team-wide discontent…and that will inevitably lead to less success in terms of team dynamics, as well as fewer wins and more losses.

This, of course, leads me to think of my team. Is there a way to make sure they know how to handle these kinds of feelings? I wanted to think of ways to help them push through this normal life situation. How can coaches guide their athletes through the process of not being in charge/knowing your role/blooming where you’re planted?

I read a great post over at Leadership Freak, where he gave fifteen ways our players could lead themselves. I like the idea of helping them find ownership in something of their athletic experience, because a lot of it is out of their control.

5 Ways To Control The Controllables

  1. Remember what matters to you. During the low points of the season, whether it’s because they’re not seeing as much playing time as they’d like or just because their school work is kicking their butts, it’s good to remember why they love the game.
  2. Evaluate yourself with greater rigor than you evaluate others. This one really stands out to me…I probably should have written it first. Too often, players who are in a bad mental cycle spend all of their time tallying up their teammate’s flaws rather than looking in the mirror. Remembering that they can only control themselves will help them feel more in control of their lives.
  3. Build transparent relationships that strengthen your soul. I’m not one of those coaches who feels their team should all be BFFs, but I do think they should have a friend or two on the team who aren’t afraid to tell them the unfiltered truth.
  4. Reflect on your journey. Try keeping a journal. I’ve heard this advice from quite a few coaches who have their teams write reflections in journals. Some teams do it daily, after practices as well competitions. Others journal at set points during the season. Questions like: What am I learning? Who am I becoming? Am I being a great teammate? Would I want to coach myself?
  5. Extend second chances to yourself. Probably a lesson all of us could learn, huh? They’re probably going to fail at some or all of these things during the season. They may fall into a funk where they have a bad attitude or even think of quitting the team or transferring. That’s when they’ve got to find their positive headspace and remember that they love the game.

Having these conversations with our athletes can help them frame their feelings of discontent as normal rather than a sign that they aren’t where they’re meant to be.