Monday, June 11, 2012

Is it possible?

I was watching a ball game, and afterwards, the coach of the losing team told the players they didn't come to play, that they were all asleep and disinterested.

I wonder. Is it really possible for a dozen people to be asleep or disinterested at the same time? If the team had won, would the coach have said the same thing, or would they have been praised for their resilience or whatever?

I think as coaches (because that's what we are in business), we have to dig a little deeper than to yell out cliches that really mean nothing. It's too easy to watch the scoreboard and declare that we lost because we all didn't care. It's tougher to identify what we did right and to isolate what one or two or five us could have done better.

I don't think we should praise a bad performance just to be nice, but I believe if we take the title of coach or manager, we owe to the team or company to be just as a "awake" and engaged as we want our players to be.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
Fort Wayne, IN
www.labov.com

2 comments:

  1. Hi Barry, I agree that it isn't probable for a dozen people to be "asleep" or disinterested at the same time. What I do think is possible, however, is that one or a few people on the team didn’t come to play and it affected the entire group.

    Think about it - when you work together in a business setting with many people and one of the group members isn’t into it or seems "asleep" during the project, doesn’t it affect the morale of the team? That’s why it's important for anyone who works in a team - whether on the field, in the LaBov & Beyond office in Fort Wayne, or in any other environment - to be aware of their attitude and the effect it has on others…not just managers or coaches.

    Show interest, and the team will thrive. Don’t, and the consequences could be the difference between a win and a loss.

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  2. In Fort Wayne or anywhere, LaBov & Beyond or any company, it's all about the team.
    Thanks, Barry

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