Foxhole Guys, the Value of Hiring Tough, and a Tiger That Doesn't Quit

Most of us face periodic roster construction challenges. Whom do we want on our team? That applies on the court, in the office, in our communities. 

Interviews favor 'extroverts' and 'likability' which don't necessarily correlate with performance.

In the 1950's, Psychologist Danny Kahneman was asked to develop an algorithm to get the best candidates for Israeli Defense Forces. Kahneman developed six personality criteria which scored each recruit. "Six attitudes were assessed: precision, activism, adjustment to frameworks, motivation to serve, sociability, capacity for independent thought. On the basis of the candidate’s answers, the prediction score was being drawn which reflected his probability of success in the combat unit." The overall "Kahneman score" predicted military career success.

In The Undoing Project, Michael Lewis says of Kahneman, "When someone says something, don't ask yourself whether it is true. Ask what it might be true of." Kahneman sought to separate truth about people from interviewing effects where one criteria (e.g. physique) spilled into other assessments (halo effect). 

Teams need star players, role players, and deep reserves. And they need "glue guys" and "foxhole guys." Could we predict them? 

From Alan Stein

What is a foxhole guy? The foxhole guy is a person trusted implicitly. 

What criteria might the foxhole guy have?

• Toughness, doing whatever it takes, when it matters
• Consistency "shows up" daily at practice or games
• Leadership inspires teammates to do more
• Sacrifice, the will to do more for others
• Service puts self below others 
• Resilience never quits

This reminds me of the successful Navy SEAL candidate, not necessarily the biggest, the strongest, or the most social, but the most relentless under stress. I'm not suggesting that the 'foxhole' guy nears the importance of elite warriors. 

SEALs have elite fitness and team spirit. But they have more. "In a May 2011 article in "The Wall Street Journal," SEAL Eric Greitens noted that only 21 men graduated of the 220 students that started in his training program. It wasn't the lack of physical stature that caused many men to fail, according to Greitens, it was an inability to see something bigger than themselves."

Elite men or women can be foxhole guys, as in Sam Walker's The Captain Class. "It’s ultimately a book about a single idea—It’s the notion that the most crucial ingredient in a team that achieves and sustains historic greatness is the character of the player who leads it." 

Most of us are never on "historic teams" or achieve "historic greatness." But our character as coaches or players shape the achievers and lives around us. Learn to be better, more positive communicators, leaders, sharers, and teachers. We know who the foxhole guys are and want them with us. "Leaders make leaders." 

Lagniappe: Coach Hanlen shows players fine detail in setting up a shot fake off the dribble. 

Lagniappe 2. Better "judges" make better judgments. "Good judgments depend on what you know, how well you think, and how you think." - Daniel Kahneman, in "Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment" 

Our decisions are subject to "bias" (our favoring A, B, or C) and also "noise" the random scatter of decision-making between observers. 

"...evidence suggests that if the goal is to reduce error, it is better for leaders (and others) to remain open to counterarguments and to know they might be wrong. If they end up being decisive, it is at the end of the process, not at the start." - Kahneman in "Noise"

Lagniappe 3. How do organizations arrive at a decision (e.g. project planning or major hiring)? Kahneman et al. in "Noise" suggest a stepwise review of process in Appendix B. That includes understanding what alternatives existed, whether prejudgments existed, the accuracy of the information discussed (e.g. anecdotal), and whether forecasts, confidence ranges, and attitudes toward risk were discussed. 

For example, how do biases impact hiring. When the UCONN women's basketball coaching job became available in the mid-1980s, players were told they would get the best woman coach available. The players asked, "why can't we get the best coach available?" UCONN hired Geno Auriemma. 

Lagniappe 4. "Tiger" 

We learned a simpler version of this BOB in 1968 during middle school basketball. It's a "choice" screen by the "tiger" (screener). After it's worked, consider running "cub" where the screener slips and scores a layup. It still works against man defense. 

Lagniappe 5. I saw a curious tweet recently asking who was the most misunderstood character in film. One person noted the shark in "Jaws" who was just doing shark things. I thought of Bill Murray in St. Vincent, the curmudgeon babysitter carrying out his job as best as he could. Another answer might be The Terminator, sent on a mission to preserve his society, just as Sarah Connor sought to preserve hers. Who is the most misunderstood figure in basketball? 

The ending is brilliant.