Facilitating a Team Leadership session today with a Sr. Boys Basketball Team I asked the question "What are the goals for your season?" Several members of the team promptly replied "Championship!!!!" My next question to the team was "Do you have control over this goal?"
This is a common answer I get in Team Leadership sessions. Teams do not control winning. Teams control the process pieces that when executed correctly can enable them to win games. There's a difference. It's important for coaches to help athletes create a winning mindset. You may still lose every game of the season, but the positive living skills associated with creating a winning mindset will serve your athletes throughout your season and beyond. Habits must be developed in order to execute with precision and at a superior standard than opponents.
In the session I ran we identified some process pieces that the team and players control to help them to win games and hopefully eventually a championship.
Never Give Up - Players giving up because the task is difficult or the goal appears unachievable is not an options for teams trying to master a winning process. Your desire to act, give and be your best must be greater than your fear of failure, shame or disapointment. This mindset helps to develop compassion, resilience and courage.
Take No Shorts - Perform every task at the level of precision and with the standard communicated from the coaching staff and team expectations. Not touching a line today running suicides could mean, a cut not made with speed. The result in a game could be a turnover. We don't control the win, but we do control our personal standard when if comes to our process.
Work Together to Solve Problems - I had the team do a Blind Counting exercise. After the fourth or fifth time the team successfully accomplished the task associated with the exercise. In the debrief we established that the reason the team was successful was because the players shifted their focus from success (winning) to process; ensuring clear understanding of the rules, slowing down, listening to their teammates, timing. In addition to developing a mindset change the team worked together to solve the problem. In the case today it meant problem solving.
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