The Team Leadership Report

Jumping to conclusions is something we are all very good at. We see something and we make an assumption. We may be right or we may be wrong. The video below is compilation of advertisements from Ameriquest from a few years ago. Very funny clips but also very important reminders that things are not always what they appear to be. In today's rush to judgment world where throngs of people provide instant condemnation through various social media outlets it is important that you are as leader remain above the fray. The Coaching and Leadership Journal  Volume One--2013 Back Issues This lasting material is a terrific resource and will be a great addition to your professional library. Whether you are subscriber or you simply want to have a full year’s worth of our motivating leadership reports all in one place, you can order the entire 2013 season. Learn more about our Journal Order now. Only $99 for all 12 back issues.

Have a burning desire. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich , said, “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.” Build the discipline to do what is difficult, what is scary, and what is risky. Working hard with no promise of being paid. It’s the faithfulness in fulfilling the little uncomfortable things along the way that separate those who succeed and those who don’t. Surround yourself with doers . Jim Rohn says "you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with." If your friends are ambitious people of action who don’t make excuses, you’re likely to follow suit. Dream better dreams. If your dreams don’t spur you forward, then they’re not worth keeping around. If your dreams don't make you excited about possibilities then, it’s time to trade your old dreams in for some better ones. Think and Grow Rich (Original, Unabridged Edition 12 C

There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other. --Douglas H. Everett The only thing worse than starting something and failing is not starting something. --Seth Godin There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. --Paulo Coelho Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.  --Napoleon Hill All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. --T. E. Lawrence Anyone can dream, but few will put in the work to see those dreams come to fruition. Dreams give an illusion of ambition without the discomfort of risks and effort. Dreams are safe in your head. That’s why few dreams ever see the light of day. You might be waiting for your stars to

Donna Fargo is a country singer-songwriter from Mount Airy, North Carolina who is best known for a series of Top 10 country hits in the 1970s including Happiest Girl In The Whole USA.   Look at life as a journey and enjoy the ride.  Get the most out of the detours and realize they're sometimes necessary.  Do your best, but if what you're doing has caused you discouragement, try a different approach.  Be passionate about the process, but don't be so attached to the outcome. Wish the best for everyone, with no personal strings attached.  Applaud someone else's win as much as you would your own. Trust that there's a divine plan, that we don't always know what's best for us.  A disappointment now could mean a victory later, so don't be disappointed.  There is usually a reason. Ask no more of yourself than the best that you can do, and be satisfied with that.  Be compassionate towards yourself as well as others. Know your calling, your gift, and d

Tom Izzo thinks we have taken aways the crucial formative years from the ages 12-21 and distorted them. "We obsess over career paths; play one sport, study one subject, focus on one goal," he says. He would rather see athletes play three sports and play fewer games in the summer. "You’re not getting quite as good maybe, but you’re more well-rounded. We’re putting so much pressure on these kids. And it’s not just athletes. I saw a TV segment on a 15-year-old who went to Harvard and I felt bad for her. How will she ever have a life? " --Adapted from sportsillustrated.com   Getting to Us: How Great Coaches Make Great Teams

Passion may hurt you more than help you in your next disagreement.  Passion, often highly prized by leaders, may actually work against that leader if he or she is trying to reach out to someone who may not agree with them. That’s a conclusion of new research into persuasion by a pair of university academics and reported by Shankar Vedantam of NPR. This new research into persuasion really is confirmation of what all good leaders do when seeking consensus; they first seek to understand what the other is thinking and why they are thinking it. To become more persuasive consider these three questions: How does the other person see the world? This question addresses the other person’s value system. How can I frame my argument in terms my opposite understands? Relate your values to the others. When you scratch the surface many people can agree on what is good for others – love, security, opportunity and integrity. How can we find common ground? Know what you know about the other per

Design practice environments that stretch athletes just beyond their comfort zone.  Some reports suggest that placing athletes in activities that are 4% beyond their current skill level is just the right amount of ‘stretch’. Ensure the proper amount of stretch by making workouts ‘hard fun.’ A hard fun practice includes novelty, unpredictability, and complexity, and strikes the right balance between an athlete’s current skill level and demands of the training activity. Training that includes these characteristics prevents complacency, boredom, and off-task thinking and behavior. Arrange high failure, pressure training conditions that increase athletes’ pattern recognition and decision-making ability. It is normal for athletes to fear failure. Yet, it is widely recognized that failure is a normal and critical ingredient for achieving long-term success. The most successful coaches deliberately create training environments where failure is inevitable. Steven Kotler, in his book Th

Brett Ledbetter interviewed college basketball coaches and in his book  What Drives Winning  he compiled a list of performance skills deemed critical to winning. Hardworking : they pay the price with effort. Competitive: the y  strive to be their best at all times. Positive:  They remain positive especially during critical times. Focused : They eliminate distractions. Resilient : They bounce back from setbacks. Confident : They trust in themselves and their teammates. Enthusiastic : They express enjoyment and know that enthusiasm is contagious. Disciplined : They remain in control. Curious : They are always eager to explore and learn more. Creative:  They have an open mindset. Motivated:  They demonstrate strong purpose and desire. Courageous: They express   fortitude in face of challenges Accountable : They take responsibility for own actions. What Drives Winning: Building Character Gets Results. Here's How.

Anson Dorrance is the winningest team sport coach in collegiate history with a  92% winning percentage in the past 41 years coaching the University of North Carolina’s women’s soccer team.  In 2009, Dorrance became the first coach in NCAA history to win 20 championships coaching a single sport. Here are some excerpts from a 2016 interview with Dr. Wade Gilbert: Constantly grow as a coach. “I want my life to be one of never-ending ascension” Coach Dorrance loves to learn. He regularly attends coaching and leadership seminar  both as a speaker and as attendee His approach to learning reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, “When one person teaches, two people learn.” He shared that one of the reasons he so enjoys speaking at events is that it gives him an opportunity to learn through the questions that are posed to him. The questions keep him sharp and force him to explain and reflect on how he coaches. He firmly believes that he grows as a coach each time he answers a question.

Coaching is like flying an airplane. There’s going to be a lot of turbulence. Your job is to land the plane safely. Some nights, you got to lose with your star player. You don’t always win with him. You got to lose with him. So if Isiah Thomas had lost the game for us tonight, that’s okay because he has won me a lot of games. So I’m going to stay loyal to him even if he’s having a rough night.   Daly Wisdom: Life lessons from dream team coach and hall-of-famer Chuck Daly

The best know what they truly want. At some point in their lives, the best have a “Aha!” moment when their vision becomes clear. Suddenly they realize what they really, truly want to achieve. They find their passion. When that happens they are ready to pay the price that greatness requires. The best want it more. We all want to be great. But the best of the best are willing to do what it takes to be great. The best don’t just think about their desire for greatness; they act on it. They work hard and do the things that others won’t do, and they spend more time doing it. The best are always striving to get better. They are always looking for ways to learn, apply, improve, and grow. They stay humble and hungry and are lifelong learners. The best do ordinary things better than everyone else. For all their greatness, the best aren’t that much better than everyone else. They are simply a little better at a lot of things. They work hard to master the fundamentals. They don’t do an

The following comes from "Be A People Person," by John Maxwell:  What can you do to help people with their problems? First of all, encourage them to face their problems. Too often people would rather flee them, fight them, or forget them. Second, encourage them to solve their problems. Use the following acronym to teach yourself to help other people with difficulties. T ell them it takes time. E xpose yourself to their problems in order to relate to them. A ssure them of your confidence in them. C reatively show them how to deal with their problems. H ope offered to them through the process. Be A People Person- Lunch & Learn

The following was written by Florida State Associate Head Coach Stan Jones, the longest tenured assistant coach in the ACC. It has been my experience from coaching at all different levels, the teams with the most talent win a high percentage of all games, but if you evaluate their roster, you also find the team with the most competitive talent wins the championship. There are five attributes that I have observed over my career in true competitors: They play at the same level every game. They handle mistakes – their own and the mistakes of others. They show enthusiasm and desire for every game. They are the team catalyst. They never quit, no matter what. Play at the same level every game: This behavior is easily observable but what most people aren’t able to see is that they play that way almost every day in practice. The year I coached in the NBA, veteran coach Johnny Bach, told me how when he was coaching the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan would not ever let his tea

LEVEL 1 — POSITION The lowest level of leadership—the entry level, if you will—is Position. It’s the only level that requires no ability or effort to achieve. After all, anyone can be appointed to a position! While nothing is wrong with having a leadership position, everything is wrong with relying only on that position to get people to follow. That’s because it only works if you have leverage (such as job security or a paycheck) over your followers. At Level 1, people only follow if they believe that they have to. People who remain on the position level may find it difficult to work with volunteers. Why? Because position does not automatically result in influence, and volunteers are aware that they don’t have to follow anyone. They truly only follow if they want to. But the news is not all bad about this level. It is a prime place for you to begin investing in your growth and potential as a leader. Use your time at this level learning to lead yourself – through priorities an