FEEDBACK

Leadership means communicating with others in such a way that they are influenced and motivated to perform actions that further common goals and lead toward desired outcomes.  Communication is a process by which information and understanding are transferred between a sender and receiver, such as between a leader and an employee, an instructor and a student, or a coach and a football player.


Feedback is the element of the communication process that enables someone to determine whether the receiver correctly interpreted the message.  Feedback occurs when a receiver responds to a leader's communication with a return message.  Without feedback, the communication cycle is incomplete.  Effective communication involves both the transference and mutual understanding of information.  The nature of effective communication is cyclical, in that a sender and receiver may exchange messages several times to achieve a mutual understanding.  The ongoing process of sending, receiving and feedback to test understanding underlies both management and leadership communication.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

The overriding function of management is to provide order and consistency to organizations, whereas the primary function of leadership is to produce change and movement. (Kotter, 1990)

Management is about seeking order and stability; leadership is about seeking adaptive and constructive change. (Kotter, 1990)

Although they are different in scope, Kotter (1990) contended that both management and leadership are essential if an organization is to prosper.  For example, if an organization has strong management without leadership, the outcome can be stifling and bureaucratic.  Conversely, if an organization has strong leadership without management, the outcome can be meaningless or misdirected change for change's sake. To be effective, organizations need to nourish both competent management and skilled leadership.

Bennis and Nanus (1985) maintained that there is a significant difference between the two.  To manage means to accomplish activities and master routines, whereas to lead means to influence others and create visions for change.  "Managers are people who do things right and leaders are people who do the right thing" (Bennis and Nanus, 1985)

Rost (1991) contended that leadership is a multidirectional influence relationship and management is a unidirectional authority relationship.  Whereas leadership is concerned with the process of developing mutual purposes, management is directed toward coordinating activities in order to get the job done.

Zaleznik (1977) argued that managers and leaders are distinctly different types of people.  He contended that managers are reactive and prefer to work with people to solve problems but do so with low emotional involvement.  He suggested that leaders on the other hand, are emotionally active and involved.  They seek to shape ideas instead of responding to them and act to expand the available options to solve long standing problems.  Leaders change the way people think about what is possible.

Which one are you?

Information from Northouse 2010, LEADERSHIP - Theory and Practice, Fifth Edition

DECISION CHECKLIST

I am helping an athlete develop some clarity and frame her decision around which university to attend.  I thought this would be a great time to post a decision checklist.  The list I've provided below is a collection of 3 decision lists that I put together for a paper I was writing.  Most decisions wouldn't involve so many steps.  This is also the second part of a previous post called DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS.

Here is a process checklist of actions that best mitigate the effects of Red Flags and promote “Smart Choice” decision practices.  It's actually 3 checklists in 1.  The checklist produces safeguards to avoid the effects of distorted thinking. The checklist helps to identify the complexity of the decisions, risks and tradeoffs, ethical considerations, implementation of the decisions, monitors and controls and offers a process for corrective action.  See below for how my checklist makes for a better decisions.

Checklist

1.      Identify your real decision problem

2.      Specify your objective

3.      Create a full range of alternatives

4.      Understand the consequences of the alternatives - am I fully aware of the costs associated with this decision

5.      Make explicit the inherent value of tradeoffs

6.      Clarify the relevant uncertainties

7.      Account for your risk tolerance

8.      Consider implications for interrelated decisions

9.      If I waited a week would I still make the same decision

10.  A year from now will this decision still be a good one

11.  Have I done my homework – good reason or excitement

12.  Will this decision harm people – to athletes  - do no harm

13.  Will this decision unduly harm the environment – in my case the basketball community

14.  Is this decision unethical, immoral or illegal

15.  Will this decision set a bad example for my children

16.  If no one could see that I was doing this is it, still the right thing to do

17.  If everyone could see what I was doing, is it still the right thing to do

18.  The act of choice (calculating the optimal decision)

19.  Implementing the decision

20.  Follow up feedback and control

21.  Corrective action

22.  Renewal of the search, and

23.  Revision of objectives

How do you think it will make for a better decision?

Checklist items 1 – 8 help to process Category 2 decisions; items 9 – 23 are global. Items 1 – 8 present an insider view and items 9 – 17 provide an important outside view perspective to temper optimism and take a balanced perspective.  Items 12 – 17 ensure that we are considering the decision through an ethical lens. Items 18 – 23 involve the actual process of making the decision, implementation, monitoring the results and a contingency approach if we need to change the decision. This checklist offers a relatively balanced approach to the decision making process.

Successful identification of the decision problem creates clarity in order to determine a process to solve the decision problem.

Weighing objectives prioritizes goals.  Decision-making is challenging when objectives are equally weighed.  Differentiating objectives through weighing paints a clear picture of which goals are most important to the organization and the decision-makers.

A full range of alternatives provides decision makers with an array of plausible options to address the decision problem. 

Understanding the consequences of the alternative identifies the risk associated with a decision. Alternatives can be easily overvalued because we focus only on the benefits and ignore the risks.  This item is an important safeguard against delusions of success, "Rose Colored Glasses", accentuating the Positive, and the Insider View.  This item also safeguards against misleading recognition, inappropriate attachment and inappropriate self-interest through highlight risk associated with an alternative.

Awareness of the value trade-offs helps decision makers understand the opportunity costs associated of the decision.

Clarification of the relevant uncertainties frames the complexity of the decision.  Identification of the decision category will help decision-makers chose the necessary process to deal with a category 1 or 2 decision.

The decision-makers risk tolerance must be consistent with the level of risk of the alternative to determine if decision-makers are prepared to accept risks associated with the potential benefits of the alternative.

Interrelated decisions encourage us to consider consolidations or fusion of alternatives, instead of one plan or another to best facilitate the objectives and address the decision problem. 

STAGES OF LEARNING

I had a conversation with a fellow coach a few weeks ago about Stages of Learning yesterday that I thought could benefit everyone.  

These theories are very important for coaches because they provide you with perspective that frames expectations of the learning your athletes should demonstrate.  This is important for season planning so that you plan the minimum amount of time for your athletes to develop a level of competency for a skill or concept.  It will also help you to make your goal setting realistic.

Research from Fitts and Posner is widely respected so I thought I’d use their language, however the National Coaching Certification Program uses different language.  I believe NCCP uses the language of Introduction, Acquisition, Competency, Performance or something like that.  Again it’s different ways of saying the same thing.  Basically they want you to understand that if you show something to an athlete today, it takes time for them to go through the different stages of learning to get to a point of competency or performance.    I often use the language that “telling is not teaching” and I also believe that “teaching is not learning”.

There are variables that influence the stages of learning, how long it takes to go from one stage to another and duration of time in each stage.  Variables like “volume” (the amount of reps athletes get performing the skill; “frequency” (how many times during a period the athlete is getting the reps); “environement”(does the practice environment reflect the competitive environment; quality (quality of the reps/practice); time; number of athletes; number of coaches; etc.

The Learning Process – Fitts and Posner

Fitts and Posner (1967) suggest that the learning process is sequential and that we move through specific phases as we learn. There are three stages to learning a new skill:

• Cognitive phase - Identification and development of the component parts of the skill - involves formation of a mental picture of the skill
• Associative phase - Linking the component parts into a smooth action - involves practicing the skill and using feedback to perfect the skill
• Autonomous phase - Developing the learned skill so that it becomes automatic - involves little or no conscious thought or attention whilst performing the skill - not all performers reach this stage

Stages of Learning a Sports Skill

The learning of physical skills requires the relevant movements to be assembled, component by component, using feedback to shape and polish them into a smooth action. Rehearsal of the skill must be done regularly and correctly. 

The stages of learning are phases that athletes experience as they progress through skills. As a coach, if you are aware of your athletes' level of readiness, you can be better at skill instruction for their level.

Several models are used describe these learning stages. There is no definitive point at which an athlete transitions into any the phase, but descriptions help coaches know about where athletes are and which level of activities they are able to accomplish.

The two-stage models distinguish only between getting the idea and then progressing from the fundamentals to refining skills. Key points from each model are presented here using the 3-stage approach.  Courtesy of the Sport Advisor.

The Mental Stage: Figuring Out the Skill – Cognitive (Fitts & Posner)

This phase, sometimes referred to as the cognitive stage or the verbal-motor stage, occurs when the beginning athlete is attempting to understand the basic task. Challenges include how to hold the racquet, how to place the feet, and where the boundaries are.

Beginners are not always aware of what they did wrong, nor do they know how to correct errors. They need basic, specific instruction and feedback during this phase.

The Associative Stage: Getting Better – Associative (Fitts & Posner)

At this stage the athlete understands the fundamentals of the skill and is in the process of refining the skill. They experience fewer errors and can detect some of them on their own. Performances are more consistent and learners begin to know what is relevant and what is not.

Here the athlete refines what is needed to accomplish the objective of the skill regardless of the situation. They also begin to learn how to diversify responses for open skills.

The Autonomous Stage: It's Second Nature – Autonomous (Fitts & Posner)

At this point the skill is well learned. The athlete perform the skill automatically without having to focus on execution. There are few errors and athletes can detect and know how to correct them. They can concentrate more on other aspects of the game.

As athletes transition from learning to goal of the skill to perfecting it, coaches can diversify instruction and practice conditions.

For closed skills, practices should be structured to match the conditions of competition. For open skills, the coach must systematically vary the conditions under which the skill is being learned and performed in preparation for competition.

Conscious and Unconscious Learning

Here is another useful way of looking at the 4 stages of learning!

Unconscious Incompetence

The individual does not understand or know how to do something and does not necessarily recognize the deficit. They may deny the usefulness of the skill. The individual must recognise their own incompetence, and the value of the new skill, before moving on to the next stage.  The length of time an individual spends in this stage depends on the strength of the stimulus to learn.

Conscious Incompetence

Though the individual does not understand or know how to do something, he or she does recognize the deficit, as well as the value of a new skill in addressing the deficit. The making of mistakes can be integral to the learning process at this stage.

Conscious Competence

The individual understands or knows how to do something. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires concentration. It may be broken down into steps, and there is heavy conscious involvement in executing the new skill.

Unconscious Competence

The individual has had so much practice with a skill that it has become "second nature" and can be performed easily. As a result, the skill can be performed while executing another task. The individual may be able to teach it to others, depending upon how and when it was learned.