bcg blog

Waiter - Rocket - Goose

It’s camp season for most high school basketball coaches right now. While it’s fun to provide young players with opportunities to have fun around the game, it’s equally exhausting. Bloody noses, phantom injuries, and restroom breaks litter every day of youth camp. Then, of course, there is the actual teaching of basketball fundamentals.

If you are running a basketball camp, one fundamental that must be taught is shooting. Although there isn’t enough time to make a significant improvement over the course of a few days of the summer, you still have to address the most valuable skill in the sport.

In an effort to simplify for our campers of all different skill levels, we break shooting down into three parts that focus on the top half of the mechanics: waiter, rocket, goose. Waiter refers to the player keeping their wrist flexed and elbow under the ball. Rocket addresses the need to shoot the ball up rather than out. And, goose emphasizes the need to flip the wrist and keep the shooting arm high. 

While talking through it at camp this week I realized this simple three word reminder applies just as well to leadership.

Why Should We Care?
The Waiter
We’ve all had waiters, or waitresses, that turn a simple meal into an unforgettable experience. They are kind, thoughtful, understanding and anticipate your needs even before you realize them. First and foremost, waiters serve. The best are proactive in creating a relationship, regardless of how seemingly insignificant, with you. Although it’s a tiny slice of both of your lives, it’s not a stretch to say the best servers in the world are able to transform in that minimal time frame. The best leaders do the same. Regardless of time, regardless of obstacles, regardless of available excuses - they serve and they transform … in spite of (shout out to Mike and his R2O team).

The Rocket
Rockets go up. They elevate those with them. They don’t push out, they push up. Isn’t this the mission of every leader - to be a lifter? Ask any leader what the most fulfilling aspect of the calling is and some version of helping people go places they didn’t know they could go. Notice it’s not taking them where they want to go. They will always shoot too low if the choice is left to them. It’s the leader’s job to press the edges of what is comfortable and raise them to what they are capable of, not what they desire.

The Goose
If you’re leading, you have to finish. Most people are ok being done. Leaders know being done is incomplete. It lacks follow through. From a tough conversation to a big time project, the difference is often in the follow through. After the project is complete, and most have moved on, the excellent leader circles back to reaffirm the deal. Following a tough conversation that same leader will reconnect to be sure the other person knows they are still valued. They hand write thank you notes. They call. While most think these things are ‘extras’, excellent leaders simply view them as part of the process. It’s less what they do and more who they are.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
All three of the items above are important parts of leading effectively, with excellence. And, I’m sure you probably have many things you do that fall into each bucket, but here are a few ideas that you may not have consider:

• The Waiter - Take Care of Yourself 
  
  • As counterintuitive as it sounds, taking care of yourself is one of the most selfless things you can do. It allows you to show up for the people you serve, and love, as the best version of yourself. When you’re better physically and mentally, you can serve those in your care better. By switching your perspective on self-care to one of service to others, you change the purpose behind those actions of self-care. By turning out, you see the value in turning in.
    

• The Rocket - Stop Looking Around
  
  • The more we look around, the more we see what everyone else is doing. Clearly, this is as discouraging as often as it is motivating. What we don’t realize about looking around is how limiting it is for us. We see the limitations of others and mistakenly assume that we have the same ones. We don’t. If we really want to help those we lead continue rising, we will focus on their potential free from the strings of other’s limitations holding them back.
    

• The Goose - Listen Intently
  
  • The most thoughtful people are the ones that truly understand the significance following through can make. Thoughtfulness often begins with attentiveness and a desire to fully understand another person. By listening, really listening, we are clued into numerous paths for connection and furthering relationships. Paths that are often missed because we aren’t ready to hear all of what is being said, or not said. 
    

Waiter - Rocket - Goose: as good for those aspiring to become better shooters as it is for those seeking excellence in leadership. Serving, lifting up, and following through … if only the execution were as simple as the verbiage.

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!