The greatest managers I’ve ever had have not been managers in the corporate sense of the word. They’ve been my basketball coaches. That’s right, I’m sayin’ it: the people who really know how to bring out the best in teams - and win - don’t work in corporate America, they work in gyms.
Like corporate team leaders, great coaches recruit, do performance reviews, and play to win. Their performance is judged - by wins and losses - every season. But unlike corporate team leaders, only the good coaches get to stay, the bad ones are asked to leave. In corporate America, we let even poor managers stay, and allow them to repel great talent.
Here’s what I’ve learned from great coaches, and how it can make us better managers:
1. Don’t let the big, lumbering oaf with butterfingers bring the ball up the court. Put her under the basket where she can block shots and snag rebounds.
At work, you don’t want the Sam-with-the-stick-up-his-butt leading the sales team. And you don’t want the rules-are-meant-to-be-broken dude leading your IRS audit. Great managers assess each person’s strengths and configure teams in the most optimal way to get work done on time and ahead of schedule.
From surveys with over 10 million workers, Gallup confirms what great managers already know:
“...employees who have the opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs and more than three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life.” Learn more here.
2. Focus. On. The. Work.
Geno Auriemma is the head women’s basketball coach at the University of Connecticut, and he’s insanely focused on winning. It’s probably why UConn has one of the longest winning streaks. Ever.
Recently, Coach Auriemma explained why he detests the first part of practice, when everyone’s stretching:
“We stretch. That's the biggest waste of time in the history of sports. But we have to stretch. And I give them ten minutes to stretch before practice so they can all sit around and talk about what movie they saw, what pair of shoes they saw in some store or -- you know. And I stay in my office until they're done and then I come out. It's nauseating.”
Great managers don’t spend the first part of Monday morning debriefing with everyone about their weekend. They jump-start the new workweek by asking people, “What are you working on?” and keeping them focused on results.
3. Bark both ways.
If you’ve ever watched a college basketball game, you’ve probably noticed that there are two groups of people that coaches spend all their time barking at: their players and the refs.
At work, you expect a manager to bark at her team. But only the best managers risk their reputation to bark upline at their own managers. Great managers bark to their bosses about needing more resources, or cutting someone some slack. Great managers work upline to make sure their teams have what they need to win, and bark downline to make sure their teams execute.
4. Offer special deals.
Great coaches motivate different players differently. Michael Jordan needed different motivation than Dennis Rodman, and Phil Jackson capitalized on those differences.
Like great coaches, great managers know how to cut “special deals” when it makes sense.
At work, when you have a star performer who wants to work a compressed work week, do you cut them off the team, because a four day workweek isn’t in the policy manual? Or do you work it out so that you both get what you need?
5. Give ‘em a reason to believe.
Leo Paur coaches a high school football team in Utah that hasn't won a game in two and a half seasons. Yet, his players are motivated each and every time they take the field. How does Coach Paur do it? He’s unfailingly optimistic, and encourages his team that THIS TIME they can turn things around.
We’ve all been on teams - or seen teams - where the impossible happened. The 1980 Miracle on Ice. UNI’s upset over Kansas and the Butler men’s basketball team’s trip to the NCAA finals this year.
As our workplaces begin to recover from the Great Recession, we must find ways to give our teams a reason to believe. And it all starts with the team leader. Our emotions are contagious; if we can find reasons to be optimistic, our teams will, too.
That’s why they call it a “game face,” yo.
If you liked this article, please check out our live webcast, “Congratulations, You’ve Been Promoted. Now what?” Read more here or register here.
Read, listen and learn more:
- Read “Are We Promoting the Wrong People?” by Rebecca Ryan here.
- Read the full interview with Geno Auriemma and some of his 2010 championship players here.
- Listen to This American Life’s “Long Shot” episode where coach Leo Paur talks about how he motivated his football team here.
Comments
My favorite leaders were directing orchestras… helping create one positive outcome with contributions from members who play different instruments.
