What constitutes the four legs of your basketball stool? For example, market pundit Todd Harrison says that stock prices rest on fundamentals, technicals, sentiment, and asset allocation.
1. Stability. Constant change in management, personnel, and philosophy create confusion about direction and roles. Erik Spoelstra became the Miami Heat video coordinator in 1995, rose through the ranks of assistant and scout, and ascended to the head coaching position in 2008. His playoff winning percentage of .612 exceeds his regular season .591. His Heat have a pair of titles in five Finals appearances.
Forbes shares four factors that form stable leadership.
- True North - leaders define clear purpose and direction.
- You Play How You Practice - process and preparation are foundational to results.
- Lead With Compassion - empathy creates trust.
- Freedom To Fail - punitive reviews seldom produce high performance.
2. Personnel. We are only as good as our people. Hire tough. Jim Collins writes about "getting the right people in the right seats" in Good to Great. In Monday Morning Leadership, David Cottrell writes, "People don't quit jobs. They quit people." Ask why organizations with high turnover rates can't keep their people. And ask why players want to play for some coaches and organizations. Formers Spurs Assistant and EuroLeague Championship coach Etorre Messina said, "character is skill number one."
3. Mindset. Growth is relative. We advance or fall behind. Positive mindset includes player development, roster improvement, and team growth. Boost athleticism, skill, and knowledge. Successful players find areas to improve each offseason.
Choose not to lament the pandemic as lost opportunity but capitalize on learning and sharing. Find answers not excuses. Read, read, read, read, read.
Chris Corbett shared this piece on jump/power training, including exercises and video (sample below) to improve athleticism and potentially reduce injury.
4. Operations. Operations are the sum of how we do what we do. It encompasses strategy and tactics.
- Develop practice schedules to address musts, needs, and wants. What must we fix now? If we can't fix, can we camouflage it? Sometimes we need to fix ourselves.
- Constantly edit and revise drills, optimize playbooks, and advance 'thinking' as a group. What actions fit our knowledge, teaching ability, and personnel?
- Develop and share our drill book. I use spreadsheets on Google Drive.
- Catalog and share a video library of concepts and actions.
- Network with coaches to give and receive mentoring. "Professionally, we often reach a plateau, which falls below peak performance."
- Self-assess with the sole agenda of excellence.
Great leaders create clarity of:
— Jon Gordon (@JonGordon11) October 13, 2020
1. Vision-where are we going.
2. Mission-why are we going there.
3. Priority-what matters most.
4. Focus-what do we need to do.
5. Truth-principles that generate power and results.