bcg blog

It's One or The Other

It’s fall 2012 and our off-season basketball program is just getting underway. I’ve been a high school basketball coach for twelve years, but this one feels a little different. It’s my first opportunity to see the players at my new school, Centerville. I’m excited but nervous, hopeful yet skeptical. And, unfortunately, the first player citing doesn’t exactly calm the nerves.

As I walk into our cold, dark auxiliary gym the first player I see is a dusty blonde haired, chubby kid with a beat up cast on his right arm. He looks terrible - slow, not tall, AND with a giant cast on his arm … not exactly the makings of the player I am hoping for. 

Clearly this wasn’t the first time he had been shooting with his cast on though. He lines it up with his left hand, lets it fly, runs after his rebound, and repeats the process. Over and over, shot after shot. A few went in, most did not. But he kept shooting, that’s a good thing - I think!

When it came time to pick teams, of course he hopped in line. After informing him he wasn’t allowed to play with a cast on his arm, he disappeared into the crowd of other players. He didn’t hide for long though. About ten minutes into the open gym I catch him on the court, playing on one of the teams at the opposite end of the gym from where I’m standing. I make my way to his court and let him know (again) that he’s not allowed to play with a cast on. He tries to explain to me that a player needed a sub so he just jumped in for them. Forget the fact that there were approximately twenty casteless-players standing on the sidelines waiting to play. 

About thirty minutes later I have to go pull him out of a game for a third time. Clearly, it would be easy to become frustrated by his lack of willingness to listen to my directions. But, I’m not going to lie, his persistence brought a smile to my face. And, the cast drove the point home.

Why Should We Care?
As you might guess, that young man turned out to not only be a great player, but one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached. He was incredibly coachable, relentless in his effort, and always prioritized the team. But, it was definitely his willingness to find a way instead of an excuse that drew me to him.

As a leader, you play favorites. And, one of the first things you appreciate in someone you are leading is the ability to see a possibility rather than an excuse. You’ve never worked with someone good at both - because they don’t exist. It’s impossible to search for excuses while focusing on possibilities. No one wallows in scarcity while appreciating abundance.

One of the most difficult challenges for a leader is helping the people you lead see the possibility over the excuse, especially when things get hard. Call it hope if you want, but it’s critical as a leader that you provide, or at least suggest, it for your team. A mindset of possibility is certainly not something you can assume your team automatically has.

Contrary to the approach commonly taken today, ignoring reality and painting everything with a hunky-dory brush is not an effective approach - even if everyone is doing it. The best people at focusing on possibility in difficult situations are perfectly in tune with reality while never considering an excuse. They maintain hope in spite of the conditions, not because of them.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
So, what do they do? The people that are able to ignore excuses, what do they do differently than other people … than the majority of people? How do they maintain this perspective? Here are a few thoughts to move in that direction:

• Acknowledge it 
  
  • If you’ve ever tried to help someone in denial, you understand exactly why we have to start here. Until we can admit and acknowledge the reality of the situation we will live in a world of excuses and rationalization. Helping those we lead through this phase is often the most challenging step. Keep telling them. Keep showing them. Their path to excellence depends on it.
    

• Adjust to it
  
  • As a wise man once said, “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.” Once the situation is acknowledged, we have to adjust our behaviors and actions to account for reality. One of the worst repercussions of an excuse is that it prohibits change. Change is your friend, not your enemy.
    

• Attack it
  
  • The chubby player with a cast didn’t just show up for that single open gym, he was at everything - open gym, weights, conditioning … every day … with his cast. He didn’t tippy toe, he attacked. Weightlifting presented numerous challenges. He never sat out. I’ve found that the persistence of the attack needs to outweigh my desire to make an excuse. And, it’s always best to err on the side of a more aggressive attack.
    

You can’t have both. It’s one or the other: an excuse or a way. The more we train ourselves to see opportunity, the more opportunity we find. And, of course, the opposite is also true.

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