Have you been on a team and felt excluded? In sports and in organizations, team members want to belong within the Circle of Safety.
Recall the anthem from the Lego Movie:
Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team
Everything is awesome, when you're living out a dream.
Coaches define the size and scope of the Circle. Leaders who shrink the circle create safe havens for themselves (sometimes insulation and paranoia) and other executives and expand the danger zone for subordinates. Those are weak organizations.
Outside the circle, team members may feel lonely, frustrated, and vulnerable in the Danger Zone. To save themselves, they may form cliques and opacity for self-protection. Mistakes get hidden. Simon Sinek writes, "It is easy to know when we are in the Circle of Safety because we can feel it. We feel valued by our colleagues and we feel cared for by our superiors."
What happens when players become insecure and defensive?
- Teams lose focus and aggression.
- Players become selfish. "Get mine."
- The energy level fades.
- Fear of failure limits players.
- When process fails, bad basketball follows.
- Communicate and connect relentlessly.
- Define roles, but build opportunity to increase them.
- Give positive feedback. Praise effort and teamwork.
- Build trust to earn loyalty.
- Show players they are valued through actions. It's vital that we care about the success of our people.
"Remember the asymptote." Coaches and players are never 100% aligned; close the gaps however we can.
Lagniappe: Do we have a clear defensive plan?
- Take away the best option and live with alternatives
- Change things up (we might get confused)
- Show one defense and play another
- Consider moving your best offensive player off a tough assignment
- Have clarity about defending on and off ball screens
- Communicate
"I love Walter..." - Tommy Heinsohn on Walter McCarty