Intro
I coach basketball, I used to play but I got to old, so now I just coach. It was the first game of the season the other day. It was exactly the type of game that I like. It was close for most of the game, the lead went back and forth a couple of times and then my team managed to pull ahead and get a good lead, eventually winning by 11 points. The game was much closer than the 11 point final score, with us actually going down 3 points in the fourth quarter. Based on all the work the guys did in preseason I was really confident that we would win the game. I knew our guys were good enough to win, we just had to exert a little more effort, pull together as a team and get the job done. In the fourth quarter I called a time out, from memory we were down by a point but the momentum was with us, I could tell the tide was turning. I called the time out to give the guys a quick break and to refocus their collective mind. In the time out I did not talk tactics or draw up any plays for the team to execute. I complimented the team on their effort and then said the following, 'This is why we train hard....so we can enjoy moments like this!!!!!' Inspired!!!!! The guys looked at me and nodded, understanding what I was meaning. I told them to have fun, play hard and see what happens. What happened was a great run that saw us stop them scoring whilst we got some easy baskets, going into the lead and then winning the game. The passion, fearlessness and execution from the guys was great to see. They all relished the first win of the season. We have a long way to go, but this was a good positive step in the right direction. After the game I reflected on that line I said in the time out and I started to dwell on it. So I though I would use it to develop a new post for my blog. Although this all happened within the context of a basketball game there are some important lessons we can learn that may help us be better in other areas of life. Put our hard work into context So often we just put our heads down and work, work, work. We toil for the sake of toiling. We forget that working hard has a purpose. If we are just working hard and not enjoying the fruits of our labour then what is the point of all that hard work? I have been a basketball coach for well over 10 years now and my viewpoint on training and competing is this: Work hard in practice so that competition is fun. The main point of doing all the fitness training, all the running, cycling, shooting practice and stretching is so that in a competitive game you are able to compete. You are in the fight. The games are the reward for all the training, all the sweat and hard work. Competing is the focal point of all the preparation. This is as true in the rest of life as it is in basketball. Going the extra mile at home to please your partner, doing extra research at work so you are prepared for that important meeting, sending that text to your friend to ask how the interview went. Doing all the little things contextualise your relationships, your work, your friendships. They help build companionship, sound knowledge and strong bonds of friendship and will help weather the storm when things get rough. Back to our game, when I contextualised our teams hard work and reminded them that they had worked hard for this very moment they went onto the court with no worry, no fear and with conviction. Our opponents spent the time out shouting at each other and on court they came apart while we grew together. Putting the hard work into context gave our team a confidence to go and perform. So no matter what you are doing put in the hard work, but please make sure you take the time to enjoy your labour. To remind the guys to enjoy themselves For the last part of this game our team genuinely looked like they were enjoying themselves. The guys on the bench were whooping and cheering, the guys on the floor were pumping fists and high fiving at every opportunity. It was all very alpha male type stuff, but it was great to see. This should have been a stressful time of the game as we did not have a big enough lead to relax. For those non basketball types out there, a six point lead can get wiped out in a matter of seconds, so being six points up with seven minutes to go is very nerve wracking. Our guys relished the challenge and went onto the court smiling. They were able to enjoy the competition. It is so important to remember to enjoy ourselves in everything that we do. Learning this type of mindful approach to stressful situations takes time and takes a lot of conscious thought, however once you realise that the in order to thrive in a stressful situation is to control your own reactions to it you put yourself in a much more powerful position to be successful in that situation. Enjoying yourself in the heat of competition, in an important board meeting, in a challenging family situation (a 4 year olds tantrum because the yogurt is the wrong flavour maybe!!!) will help you turn the situation to your advantage because you are thinking positively and in a clear, rational manner. Positive energy builds positive actions Lastly, I am a big believer in what you put out you will get back. In the sports area if you spew negativity people stop wanting to play with or play for you. Think of the kid on the street that always cries when they don't get their way. No one wants to play with them after a while. The basketball teams I have played and coached over the last decade have enjoyed success at their level of play mainly because of attitude. The players on the team work really hard on individual relationships both on and off the court to ensure we stick together. When new players join the team at the start of a season I love seeing the surprise on their face at the end of their first practice when one of the long term players come up and give them a big firm hug. We together have created a fun, competitive, loving family that goes out and competes hard every game. The team pride themselves on their specific style of play and approach to adversity. When the chips are down the guys stick together and dig their heals in. They recognise hard work and effort in the good times and the tough. They stay positive and this leads to positive actions. The guys do not play the blame game, they take responsibility for their actions and they pick each other up when the going gets tough. So please, when you find yourself in a stressful situation please take time and breath and try to control your own actions. Who know, you might even end up enjoying yourself!!!! Peace and Happiness Friends.
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So I have just become a dad for the third time. On the 11th of June my third little girl was born, and I became well and truly out numbered in my own house. The good news is, that although my girls love all things pink, cuddly and cute, they also love Star Wars and a whole assortment of superheros.......including Batman!!!!! My favourite!!!!
Ok, lets just set the scene here first. This blog is about a sports team, however it is not an article about sport. The Golden State Warriors are currently one of the premier sports teams in the world. They have approached the game of basketball in an entirely different way and the results are historic numbers of wins, championships and they are constantly in the press. They are the current poster boys of the National Basketball Association, and so they should be. So what have they done differently? In a team sport with the current culture of individualism and selfishness they share everything. The Warriors are different and their success depends on this difference. They have created a culture that supports their desire to be successful, whilst most other teams in their league seem to be content to go round in circles making the same mistakes time and again.
So what makes the Golden State Warriors different from all the other teams in the NBA? Why are they so successful? Why are they so different? What leadership threads could you take from them and apply to your work, family life and free time? The Warriors shared what underpins the team and organisational culture and this insight is very powerful. If you watch the video at the top of this blog you will see that the Warriors have 4 Core Values that direct them every day. These Core Values are: Competition, Compassion, Mindfulness and Joy. Lets have a look at each of these and see how they are important in a sports setting and how they can be applied to your life. Competition: It is obvious that a sports team would have the word 'Competition' somewhere in their goals, values or in their day to day vernacular. However this value for the Golden State Warriors goes deeper than just being in competition with the other teams in the NBA. This core value is not just about competing against the opposition. It is there to remind each player and coach that they have to compete with themselves on a daily basis to stay in shape, to be game ready. That they have to compete with their ego and not let themselves get bigger than the team. It is there to ensure they remember to turn up at practice and compete against one another in order to prepare for the ultimate competition when they are on the court. However the players are also reminded to respect their competition, be mindful of their competition and to learn how to compete. In order to do this they have built a culture that means they turn up in good time, the prepare fully and completely and they don't take their success for granted. They compete each and every day and they live this core value out through how they prepare and how they perform. They live to be in the fight at the end of a close game, and they shine in this very high pressured environment. They shine because they prepared and because they work hard to compete as a team, each man knowing his role. They shine because the respect the competition enough to put in the hard work and effort in order to gain success. We all can learn from this by ensuring we turn up every day ready to compete. If it is in a work setting, we make sure we know our schedule, we prepare for each meeting, we learn to understand our customers or we go the extra mile to make sure the work is done. We respect our team mates by working as hard as possible so that the sum is greater than the value of each part. We park our individual ego at the office door and become part of the team ego, understanding our role within it and respecting everyone else's. At home we can make sure we are able to give 100% of our attention to our families. Paying attention to their needs and helping each family member at whatever they need. We need to be ready to get the kids to school in the morning, or ready to take them on their bikes, even when you are tired. You need to put in the time to get to know your kids and to continue to know, love and understand your partner. You have to be ready to compete in the game of life. Compassion: This may seem like an odd thing to have as a core value for a basketball team, never mind arguably the best basketball team on the planet. However when you think about it compassion is an essential ingredient for any successful team. In order to be successful, truly successful, you have to not only like your team-mates, you have to have a deep rooted care for them. If you are on a team where the personalities don't mesh any success that is achieved is hard to come by, it is not appreciated and it is short lived. Teams that really care for each other thrive. Their energy is infectious and their appreciation for one another is visible. My current basketball team that I play on has had a lot of success over recent years, winning cups and going undefeated in our league. A major reason for our success is because we are a very tight unit. We all care for one another. This helps us in tough games, has allowed us to win against more talented teams and has kept our heads up when we have had tough losses. As team mates we have been with each other through marriages, divorces, break-ups, babies and graduations. Getting to know each member of the team off the court has really helped us to be successful on the court. We care for one another and it shows. Compassion and empathy is so important in all aspects of our lives. There are psychological benefitss to us showing love and care to another human being, as well as receiving it. Compassion is self generating, once it is shared from one person to the next it becomes easier to share with another, and another, and another. Compassion is infectious. It is so important to show your work colleagues that you care about them. I mean really care about them, not just their whether or not they can get the job done, but whether they are healthy, happy and ready to work hard each and every day. As a leader you have to show that you are ready to serve those in your team, so that they learn to serve also. This only comes from being compassionate, completely caring for each individual. Mindfulness: In a high octane sport like basketball, where so many things are happening at any one time, you do not often find coaches and players who talk openly about mindfulness. You will hear a lot of players talking about playing in the moment, however mindfulness takes playing in the moment and raises it up a couple of notches. Mindfulness is the act of being aware of the exact situation you are in, including all the external factors impinging on your current and future actions. When being mindful you not only take into consideration how you are feeling, but you understand why you are feeling that way. You also think about how others around about you are feeling and how your actions will make them feel. On top of this you add in external factors such as the temperature in the room, the amount of light, the weather or the general mood in the room. The Golden State Warriors play with such unity and togetherness, which makes it so clear that they are very mindful of themselves and each other. They understand that their actions have an impact on their team mates, on the fans and their coaches. The five players on the court play as a unit, they play as one. This can only be achieved by being mindful, respecting each other, knowing each others individual strengths and weaknesses and helping each other out at all times. It is very difficult to get a whole team of 12 individuals to play as one unit, however the Warriors achieve this through a number of tried and tested management techniques employed by the coaches. The glue that keeps the team together through thick and thin is their mindfulness towards each other and the mindfulness of each situation they are in. In my family life I have learned to be mindful. If you don't spend time caring for each individual family member life in the home can become very difficult. When I first became a parent I found that I got frustrated and angry when I had to go and change a nappy, rather that sit and watch the TV. I was grumpy during night feeds and I argued with my wife and children over small inconsequential things. I was putting my needs before theirs. I was not being mindful within the home and it took it's toll. However I recognised the error of my ways and slowly employed some techniques that I have cultivated and developed over time to help me put my wife and children first. By doing this I have been able to have a mindset shift and now it is easy to put my family members first. By being mindful of my current situation, how I am feeling, how my wife and children are feeling and any number of external factors I have been able to become a strong servant leader in my home. There are less tantrums by the kids (and me!!!) and the general feeling in the home is fun and excitement. Joy: Joy is not generally a word that you would relate to competitive sports. Especially not professional sports. Joy is usually saved for baptisms, weddings and surprise birthday parties. So why is joy important to the Warriors success? To work in a joyful frame of mind creates a fun, happy, creative workplace. Joy is the feeling of immense pleasure. It is plain to see that the Warriors really enjoy playing together. They are dancing and celebrating when they are winning, and they are focused and productive when their backs are against the wall. They find it very pleasurable to be around one another and to play basketball together. So where does this joy come from? Although the Warriors are a very successful team and win a lot of games they do not place their happiness on winning. Winning games is a by product of their behaviour, however it is not the reason for their behaviour. They find joy in the process, not in the result. They revel in great passing, on fantastic dribbling skills, on shooting the ball well. They find satisfaction on playing great defence, on knowing where to be and when to stop their opposition. They find happiness on working together, through the easy times and through the tough times. Their joy is found in the small details of the game, it is found in the details of their preparation for a game, it is found in each other. Their joy is a result of being competitive, being compassionate and being mindful. Their joy is in the here and now, it is not based on some result in the future. It is based on their work presently. I have often found that being present and focusing on the task at hand really helps to bring a sense of happiness to me. In an age of instant gratification we are all finding it harder to find joy in the present moment. We try to find it on a facebook post, on a twitter feed or an instagram. We crave the dopamine hit of getting a new notification and this keeps or minds distracted on some future event that may or may not gratify us. It makes it difficult for us to truly be present and find joy in the moment. So here is my challenge to you, go and find joy, but not on your phone, or your computer. Go and have a real interaction with a friend, partner or work colleague. Work with someone on a project and focus on the immediate, don't look into the past or toward the future. Look at right here and right now. Focus on the line you are drawing, the word you are writing the paint stroke you have just made. Focus on the details and enjoy the process of creating, of cultivating, of designing. Enjoy the conversation, enjoy how the coffee tastes, enjoy the hug and the laughter. Get caught up in the details of doing and understand that joy and happiness do not sit over the next hill, they are not there when you finish your project. They are in the present moment in which you inhabit, you are all to often looking else where to notice. If you do this you will find success, and it will be more abundant and sustainable. So please take these lessons from the Warriors, a basketball team, and apply them to your everyday lives: - Be Competitive; - Be Compassionate; - Be Mindful; and - Find Joy!!!! Peace and happiness my friends, Andy. I absolutely love this video. Firstly thank you to the proud father who shared it, and for adding the dramatic music to great effect. My own daughter learned how to ride her bike this week. This video was shown to me when I was having a conversation with a good friend and showing off a video of my little one's first self propelled cycling experience. But a bit more on that later.
This video brings a smile to my face every time I watch it. I love how it was filmed right after the boys first experience of cycling on his own. He was ecstatic, he was almost in shock at the awesomeness that he had just experienced, he was bursting with pride in himself and he wanted to share his joy. So what can we learn from this short video that can help us as we live out our lives with our families, at work and at play? Here are a few leadership lessons I have taken from this video. 1. 'I feel happy of myself!!!!' His words are perfect. He is so happy that he struggles to find the right words to describe how he is feeling, and when he finds the words they are perfect. One of the hardest things I have had to learn as a leader was to simply be happy with myself. It sounds like an easy thing to do, but in practice it is very hard. When in a position of leadership you can get so caught up in trying to do everything right, in trying not to make mistakes, in making sure you are pleasing your bosses, in making sure you are pleasing those you lead, even stressing about pleasing the people your company provides a service for. We all need to take more time to simply be happy, we need to take more time to enjoy the little victories when they come along. It is easy to be happy at 4pm on a Friday afternoon in July. After all in one hour you will be walking out of the office and into the warm fresh air.....and maybe even to the pub. However being happy, and I mean truly happy, on a wet Tuesday morning in November is much more challenging. So how do we achieve happiness? We need to learn to enjoy the process and celebrate the small victories. We need to understand that happiness is not on the other side of our next big report, happiness is not after the kids go to bed and you get some peace and quiet, nor is it after a hard session at the gym. Happiness is found when you fully engage in the process and you marvel at the small milestones and details that you often miss because your focus is on the future. Happiness is the challenge of sitting down and writing the report, happiness is playing with your children and making them laugh and scream even when you are knackered, happiness is in the lunge, the running technique or the squat. Learn to be present in the everyday mundane and you will start to find happiness, because it is right here and right now. 2. 'If you believe in yourself you will know how to ride your bike!!!' So many people are walking around with their self confidence dragging behind them. This can be for many different reasons and from time to time everyone can get into a mindset like this. I have definitely walked around with my shoulders slumped forward and my head held low. Self belief is very important for a number of different reasons. Firstly it helps us achieve on a regular basis. People with high belief in themselves and their abilities tend to be go getters. They will go and do what they are asked to do, they don't complain, they just go and do. However this statement made by the young boy in the video goes much further than simply just going and doing. What he says is actually brilliant, 'If you believe in yourself you will know how to ride your bike.' What I take from this is that if you have true belief in yourself you will learn how to do the things you can't do. I have worked with so many people that don't challenge themselves to learn to do new things. They work on something until they reach the boarder of their comfort zone. So what do they do when they get to this point? They go and ask someone else to do the work, they convince a colleague to carry on the work and they don't learn. The most productive people know that they do not know everything. The believe enough in themselves that they don't pretend to know everything. They find it easy to ask others how to do something so that they can learn for the next time. They learn and therefore they know how to ride the bike. 3. '.....you just keep practicing.' You know that old say, 'Practice makes Perfect.' Well it stands true. The only way you ever get good at something is practice. There is more and more research going into debunking the myth of Talent. You all remember that kid in your class who was good at everything. That kid who played multiple sports and was a superstar at all of them. They were also the most popular in the class as all the boys wanted his on court skills and all the girls wanted him on their arm. Sadly that was not me. There was also the academically gifted who stood out from their peers, the kid that was doing Quantum Mechanics when the rest of us were still on long division. Sadly that also was not me. That kid was called 'Talented', they had a natural ability that set them apart from everyone else. They were going to go further than everyone else, continue to be better than everyone and will have a more successful life than everyone else. So.....what happened next??? Nine times out of ten everyone else catches up. The other kids grow, become more physically able, start to understand the more difficult theories. Life has a way of evening things out. Carol Dewek has been pioneering research on the talent myth. Her work has lead her to believe that people will have largely one of two mindset types. Either a fixed or a growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset will see a problem and give up because they perceive it is too hard. A person with a fixed mindset will believe that they have only a limited ability and do not have the opportunity to learn and improve on the things they are not good at. More often that not the kids that are perceived as having a talent find themselves with this mindset. They are so much better than everyone else without having to try that they start to believe that they are so good based solely on their talent. When things get tough and people catch up with them and they can no longer coast they struggle to stay ahead of everyone else because they have not learned how to work hard to continue to improve. A person with a growth mindset will relish a challenge, they will not give up when the going gets tough. They will find a solution to a problem, they will learn what they need to do to get better. They understand that mastery only comes from hard work and practice. To put it simply, '....you just keep practicing.' 4. 'You get better and better if you do it' Once you have learned a new skill it does not get committed to memory instantly. You need to practice. You need to repeat actions, processes, skills time and again in order for them to become second nature. I am sure it was only a matter of days until the boy in the video cycled his bike as if it was nothing special. However to get to that point he would have to practice and practice and practice some more. In order for us to get good at something it takes practice. To stay good at something takes even more practice. I mentioned at the top of the blog that my daughter learned how to ride her bike this week. When she did this I videoed her and she decided to give a lesson on how to cycle your bike, giving some sound advice that I had given her. My wife put the video on Facebook, for all her friends to see. One of my daughters friends saw the video and decided that she wanted to learn how to ride her bike without stabilizers. So the next day she went out and learned how to do it. I am so proud of my wee girl for being a good influence on someone else and inspiring them to achieve something they though was beyond their grasp. So in short, be happy with yourself, believe in yourself, practice, practice and practice some more. Thanks for reading, Peace and Happiness. Hello, and welcome to my blog. Thanks for joining me, I hope you like what you read/watch/hear and keep coming back for more. I want this blog and website to be a source of inspiration for you all, a place for us all to grow in life, work and play. The main premise behind me wanting to do this blog is that I am really interested in Organisational Culture and Leadership and I want to explore this in a fun and meaningful way. I have called the website The Leadership Thread because through my own development I have picked and pulled information from many different sources, not just your typical places. I have learned lessons from TV shows, colleagues, walking down the street, BBQs, basketball games........and so on. For me leadership is not something grand and fancy that you only see in guys with suits, it is not always the big grand gestures that make people turn their heads. Leadership lives in the day to day actions of those that lead. It is the fabric of what it is to interact and work with people on a day to day basis. I believe that the traits needed to be an effective leader thread themselves throughout our lives and don't just exist in work, but also in our family lives, our hobbies and our social circles. I want to explore this and see how behaviours and actions transcend place, position, friendships and organisations. Leadership is about people. It is about engagement, sharing, trusting, supporting and guiding. Belief in a leader can be very hard to build and very easy to bring down. Leadership is lonely, it can be very difficult, however it can be ultimately rewarding. So......How am I going to do this? I am going to do it through a number of different ways. I am going to start through this blog using my own articles as well as having some guests submit their own work (I promise I won't take credit for work that is not my own!!!!). I will also be working on a podcast in which I will interview some really interesting people who I feel have a great story to share. To top it off I will post great content I find on the web that I think you all will enjoy. I will also post interesting stuff on my Twitter feed and other social network platforms as these roll out. There are a couple of other interesting projects that I am working on that I will share with you all at a later date. Before I go I want to explain to you the picture I have chosen to use for my website. This picture was taken in October 2014 when I was on holiday in the South of Spain with my family. I was walking along the beach and noticed the sand was just wet enough to leave some great footprints that my wee girls were making as they walked in front of me. I took a couple of pictures of their footprints alongside my own. From the moment I took the pictures I loved them. To me these pictures symbolise how I am no longer walking through life on my own. I am now doing it with my family. In my daughters eyes I am the leader of the family (we all know that the mums are the real leaders of our families), but we both let my girls believe that I am the leader. Not just are my daughters walking by my side on my journey, they are looking to me for advice and guidance........that is some serious stuff right there!!!!! I can't mess this leadership opportunity up. I have to be the best I can be at all times to make sure that I am a good example for these two little girls. However, how did I learn how to become a father? It did not come from books, I can tell you that much. My learning came from many different places. The influence of my own father, sports coaches growing up, my childhood heroes, bosses, friends and foes. I have taken small threads of good, strong, redeeming qualities and wove them into my own version of fatherly leadership. They have all helped me learn how to be a great dad. I therefore used this picture as a symbol of leadership, the people you lead will walk beside you, but they will also be looking to you for inspiration, guidance and support. If you keep your distance they will resent you and act out to get your attention, if you get too close and friendly they will take advantage of your seemly good nature. If you don't put in place the right expectations of good behaviour they will test the limits. However if you give them the freedom to explore, within the correct parameters, if you allow them to make their own mistakes and don't judge them when they fail, they will continue to look at you for leadership and support. Ok, that is it for now. Thanks for taking the time to read this initial post. I hope you found this interesting and will at least give me a chance to entertain you with future posts and content. Peace and Happiness to you all!!! |
AuthorMy name is Andy Smyth, I have spent the last decade working in the field of Sports Development, where I have had the pleasure of working to grow leaders within local community sports clubs in Scotland. Archives
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