 The Fight For ConsistencyI hand the microphone over to the next speaker, relieved to be finished. I step to the side so everyone knows my portion of the clinic is complete. At the request of the coaches in attendance I spoke on installing our motion offense. For forty-five minutes I gave them everything we do to run, adjust, and evaluate our offensive system.
As I’m thanking the MC for providing me the opportunity to share, a small line of coaches forms along the wall waiting to ask me a question. A few of the questions pertain to our motion offense, a few curious about our defensive approach, and few about our Breakfast Club which I briefly mentioned early in the talk. The interest in the Breakfast Club surprises me a little. The week following the clinic I received several emails from clinic participants, the majority of which were again enquiring about Breakfast Club. Based on the questions I was receiving, I did a very poor job of explaining the true purpose of Breakfast Club. A few asked what we did or how we organized it, but the vast majority had the same question: how often do you have it? If I had explained it correctly and related it appropriately to our core values, the answer would’ve been clear because only one answer makes sense when you understand its purpose. Sure, skill development is part of it, sharing the time with your teammates is part of it, but the driving force behind our breakfast club is to establish the discipline to be consistent. We believe consistency is the separating factor between good and great. At 6:00am, every single day becomes a fight for consistency. Why Should We Care? Whether you’re leading high school athletes or middle aged accountants, consistency is a fight. The behaviors that determine the success of our teams are the front ranks. Once a standard is set, the fight for consistency begins. At first, everyone arrives by the set time. Then, someone is late and there are questions to be answered - how will it be handled? Will he be in trouble? If so, how much? If not, why not? What happens if he’s late again? The most important thing for leaders to understand is that when a standard is violated, everyone is watching - EVERYONE. Each person is checking to see if the violation is going to be confronted or ignored. It’s a critical time for the leader, and the team, because the commitment to consistency is being determined. Address the violation and we stabilize the culture. Ignore the violation and we are telling everyone that the standard is merely a suggestion, at best. It’s also important to note that addressing substandard behavior does not necessarily equate to punishment. The objective for the leader is to create consistency at the highest standard possible. Often that can be accomplished through intentional language. Simply saying, “That’s not what we do” and having them repeat the task until they do meet the standard is often sufficient. Most have tired of this moment to moment combat, but it’s the fight leaders must be willing to embrace if excellence is the objective. REAL TALK - Action Steps So, what does the fight for consistency consist of for the leader? What do we need to do in order to capitalize on this separating factor? Here’s a few ideas to get you started:
Bad teams do the important things well, some of the time. Good teams do the important things well, most of the time. Great teams do things well, all the time. The difference isn’t in what they do, it’s in how often they do it. Checkout Surrender the Outcome on Amazon and order The Score That Matters with Ryan Hawk & Brook Cupps. The latest blog from Blue Collar Grit can be found here!
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 The Privilege of FocusIt’s 2001, I’m twenty-five years old and preparing for my first year as a head high school basketball coach. I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing - a fact oblivious to me but crystal clear to everyone around me. I feel like I’m sprinting through the woods in the dark - no clue where I’m going and no clue which tree will be my next obstacle.
The one thing I did know is that I would work at it. I would address every possible situation, every possible circumstance. That, I was sure of. Our team would be ready - everything matters. I would start making a list, too ignorant at the time to realize exactly how incomplete it was:
Each topic has subtopics that have subtopics … there’s a lot. Then, there are things I never consider - like how to introduce myself to the opposing staff so I’m not mistaken for the team manager, which happened more than once. I learned to schedule the bus fifteen minutes earlier than we need to leave because, well, they are apparently allowed to arrive in a window around your departure time instead of the actual time. I discovered how to fill out the scorebook prior to the game to avoid a technical foul - thank you to the kind officials who informed me of this in my first game. The first year of coaching is easily worth five years of experience, maybe ten. I believe one of the most powerful realizations you come to is that while everything matters, everything does not matter equally. The real challenge becomes identifying the things that matter the most and directing your focus to that. What items deserve the privilege of your focus? Why Should We Care? I’m sure you’ve heard it multiple ways over the years: “You don’t get what you want, you get what you emphasize” or “If everything is important then nothing is”. The privilege of focus is attempting to convey the same message: we have to choose. We can do something, or anything, but we can’t do everything - and the more excellence you want, the fewer things you can do. I’m not sure there is a more inaccurate, and popular, quote than “How you do anything is how you do everything”, at least for me. I know how I take out the trash and how I prepare for a basketball practice are not the same, how clean I keep my truck and how organized I keep my office desk are not the same, my preparation for a workshop and preparation for a cookout are not the same. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not sure I want to commit the mental fortitude to make them the same. Our focus is a privilege. It’s special and should only be granted to special people or things. If we attempt to give our focus to everyone or everything, we quickly lessen our impact - especially with the ones who matter the most. The focus we are directing somewhere else could be making all the difference if poured into the most important. What, or who, is your focus giving the privilege to? REAL TALK - Action Steps In a world of ‘more is better’ we have to be intentional in order to direct our focus. We’re surrounded by bright shiny objects, all of which are calling for our attention. Here are a few thoughts on becoming ultra clear and intentional with your focus:
When we start viewing our focus as a privilege we stop giving it away so freely. It should be coveted and spent only on the things that matter the most. What do the things you do, say, or think about your focus? Checkout Surrender the Outcome on Amazon and order The Score That Matters with Ryan Hawk & Brook Cupps. The latest blog from Blue Collar Grit can be found here!  What Storms RevealCan you imagine what Tony Bennett must’ve been feeling?
It’s 2018 and his Virginia Cavaliers have just completed an incredible regular season, good enough to earn a coveted top seed in the NCAA tournament. Their hopes are set solely on a national championship and there are plenty of ‘experts’ endorsing their chances. But they were wrong - way wrong. The Cavaliers would become the first No. 1 seed in tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed. It was the biggest upset in tournament history and one of the most notable in all of sports. The loss was an event that would challenge the strongest person, with the potential to destroy one of the most elite programs. Some of these same ‘experts’ were quick to call out Virginia’s “Crash and Burn” performance and deem the program incapable of post-season success. Fast-forward one year and the Virginia Cavaliers are cutting down the nets as the national champions of college basketball - from the first one out to the last one standing. Throughout the storm the leader of the team, Tony Bennett, never allowed the loss to define him. “If you learn to use it right, it will buy you a ticket to a place you couldn’t have gone otherwise” Bennett was noted as saying. The loss wasn’t the end - it was the beginning of something greater. And, without the storm that possibility may have never been revealed. Why Should We Care? Storms are never going to be something we intentionally seek out. I mean, storm chasing sounds pretty cool, but .... Of course, if we’re serious about being our best we find ways to engineer them. A tough workout, a marathon, or writing a book are simple ways we attempt to put ourselves in the path of potential storms because deep down we really know the benefits of them. We seek them out because we know what they reveal. The first thing they do is remind us that we’re going to be ok regardless of the outcome. Afterall, if you’re reading this, then you’re undefeated against all the storms you’ve faced so far. Maybe you chose fight or maybe you chose flight, but either way you won. Ultimately our storms tell us we can. Storms also reveal our belief system. They are an incredible crucible for simplifying life. The chaos presented by a serious storm erases a number of seemingly important values that we may have held for years. The storm clears them away leaving only our strongest, most important values. As they support us through our struggle, the commitment to them only grows stronger. Storms also tighten our circle. There are usually three types of relationships when navigating storms becomes the focus. The first are the people who simply leave. As soon as the wind starts to blow, they bolt. You should avoid them at all costs. The second group of people get some distance, but check on you. They show empathy and concern, but are careful not to make your storm their storm. You should be aware. The third group marches right into the storm with you. They hold your hand, prop you up, or carry you if necessary; but there’s no way they allow you to face the storm alone. You should hold on tight to them. Those are three pretty important aspects of life that storms bring clarity to. REAL TALK - Action Steps Now that we understand the value of storms, here are a few thoughts on how we can best prepare ourselves, and those we lead, to optimize them them:
What a storm reveals is a ‘to be determined’ type thing, but one thing is for sure, good or bad, it’s going to reveal something. Checkout Surrender the Outcome on Amazon and order The Score That Matters with Ryan Hawk & Brook Cupps. The latest blog from Blue Collar Grit can be found here! |
About bcI'm a teacher, coach, and parent seeking excellence while defining success on my own terms. Archives
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