At Shoppers, Inc. we are very passionate
about great customer service, measurement and teamwork. The article below from Jon Gordon about How NFL coaches get their teams to Buy In...and how you can too! and teamwork
relates to our goals and passions. Hope you enjoy it!
Having worked with a number of NFL, NBA and college coaches and teams and many businesses I can attest that the principles for leading and managing great teams really do apply to both. And what I love about sports is that in the course of just a few months it’s clear to the coach, the players and the millions of fans watching the game on television whether or not the coach’s leadership and teambuilding principles and strategies have worked.
So how do great coaches get buy in from
their teams? How do they create a real team that is truly committed to each
other? How do they prevent individual and organization negativity from
sabotaging the team? And most important of all, what can we learn from these
coaches when building our own business teams and organizations. Let’s start with
culture.
1. Culture First - In 2008 Mike
Smith was hired to be the head coach of The Atlanta Falcons after Bobby Petrino
left the team and their culture in shambles. I consulted with Coach Smith during
that time and his biggest priority as a new coach was to focus on the culture of
the team. Coach Smith knew that he had to first identify, create and share the
values, expectations, beliefs and habits that would define the Atlanta Falcons
in order to get his players to buy in. Those who shared these values
and beliefs would be enthusiastic and engaged while those who didn’t fit this
culture were given other opportunities to play somewhere else. Coach Smith
created his culture every day by sharing his beliefs with the team, making his
expectations very clear, having the team read The
Energy Bus, communicating positive messages on a daily basis, and
living and breathing the values he wanted to ingrain in his team.
2. Get your team on the bus - When
it comes to buy in the first set of people you need to get on your bus
is your leadership team. If you don’t have buy in from your leadership
team you won’t be able to generate passionate engagement from the rest of your
team. This seems like common sense but many teams aren’t connected at the top
and that’s why they crumble at the bottom. When I worked with the University of
Texas football team in 2009, the year they played for a national championship,
the first thing we did was to create buy in from the leaders of the
team. Once the leaders were on board we then devised a plan to invite the rest
of the team on the bus. With every team I’ve worked with I’ve had the leaders
hand out bus tickets to the team inviting them on the bus. I tell
leaders don’t assume someone is on your bus just because they are a member of
the team. By inviting them on the bus you are symbolically asking them to
buy in. When they accept this invitation and hand in their ticket they
are committing to the team. The desire to be part of a tribe and engage in
tribal rituals is ingrained in our DNA so when someone ritually invites us on
the bus our desire to be part of a team turns into commitment and buy
in.
3. No Energy Vampires Allowed -
Coach Mike Smith created a No Complaining training camp. Coach Jack Del Rio put a No Energy Vampires Allowed sign on his door. Mark Richt, head
coach of the University of Georgia, had a picture of an Energy Vampire placed in
the team meeting room last year reminding players they were going to stay
positive as a team. After reading The
Energy Bus, Doc Rivers head coach of the Boston Celtics made it clear
that no energy vampires were allowed on the team. In essence these coaches were
saying that we as a team must stay positive and not allow energy vampires to
suck the life and energy out of our team. Under no circumstance will we allow an
individual’s negativity to sabotage our team, our mission and the goals we want
to accomplish. Great coaches like Notre Dame Women’s lacrosse coach Christine
Halfpenny combat negativity at the cultural level and deal with it upfront by
making it clear that Energy Vampires will not be allowed on the bus. They help a
team stay positive through adversity knowing that a team who stays positive
together, wins together.
4. Believe in them more than they believe
in themselves - Leadership is often a transfer of belief and your
belief transfers more powerfully when you are someone your team wants to follow
because you believe in them. Steve Jobs was legendary for his ability to distort
people’s reality and convince them that they could do things they never thought
possible. Steve would have been an incredible NFL coach if had ever decided to
take a pay cut and coach the San Francisco 49ers. Great coaches, like the
current 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh believe in their team members more than
they believe in themselves. I can still see the image of Coach Harbaugh on the
sidelines thumping his Quarterback Alex Smith’s chest (I don’t recommend this at
work) before a huge play-off game last year as if he was physically instilling
his confidence and belief in him. At the beginning of the season most people
said Alex Smith would no longer be a starter in the NFL but Coach Harbaugh
believed in him and as a result of his coaching, encouragement and belief Alex
Smith made the two biggest plays of his life to win that playoff game.
5. Love Tough - Tough love is
often necessary to accomplish team goals. But for tough love to work love must
come first. Buy in happens when a team member knows you care about
them. If you show them you care they will be more receptive to you pushing them
to be their best. I’ve worked with Mike Smith and the Atlanta Falcons for the
last five years and my favorite habit of Coach Smith is that he often visits the
treatment room to see the injured players. While most NFL coaches have no
interest in speaking to injured players since they are of no use to them, Coach
Smith takes time to show his players he cares. When the players recover they are
more loyal and play harder for their coach. Relationships are the foundation
upon which winning teams are built and great coaches build great relationships
with their players. When you love tough you not only get powerful buy
in, you get greater results.
How do you get your team to buy in? Share your
thoughts on our blog or Facebook page.
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