Month: November 2018

Recently, while speaking with a group of sports coaches about leadership, we got into a conversation around Comfort Zone. This is one of the 7 level of Personal Accountability that I train, but was using it there as a question and thought to help coaches understand where their comfort zones lie. I linked this to understanding how each of their athletes deal with change.

One coach said, in context, “But aren’t we supposed to keep our athletes uncomfortable to some degree?”

Yes. No peak performance ever happened inside a comfort zone.

But speaking with coaches about leadership (not coaching – I don’t try to tell coaches how to coach but I do help leaders with leadership), every coach must be aware of their own comfort zone.

For instance, some have a comfort zone that loves change. They change things up every day, coming up with a new idea to implement. In the middle of a new drill or set, they might be very comfortable with stopping in the middle because they noticed something that could “make it even better,” without realizing that over half the group (if statistics and research are correct, and my experience says it is) is still trying to figure out the drill and now you’re changing it. It’s out of their comfort zone, in what I think is a negative way.

This is where the comment/question came: “But aren’t we supposed to keep our athletes uncomfortable to some degree?”

Some coaches don’t like to change at all. This can also be a problem. One coach I worked with for years is a High S on the DiSC Assessment. I suggested he consider changing some things up, learning some new things, being open to new possibilities. “Why would I change when it works?” he replied.

Good point…to a point. He develops very good athletes. Why mess with success. He did say, proudly, that he changes things up sometimes, but only on Thursday! A classic High S response.

Comfort Zone. Coaching absolutely means getting athletes comfortable with being uncomfortable. Things change, plans never go according to design. Deal with it.

Coaches – leaders of business – must also know their comfort zone and realize that, just as athletes and direct reports need a nudge to get outside of theirs, well….Don’t go the Panic Zone, just simply the Learning Zone, which begins one step out of Comfort.

 

It’s Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., a day dedicated to family, friends, and food; parade, football, and shopping. Let’s play a children’s game – which of these is not like the other?

Thankfulness, I have found, is like a muscle. When I exercise it, it grows stronger, i.e more frequent and easier. The more I am thankful the more things I recognize I’m thankful for.

Curiously, in the circles I am surrounded with, the thankful things tend to belong to the 1st world: house, food, things that money can buy, travel, safety,…These are things that much of the world does not experience in any kind of abundance. The bridge between my usual world and the rest of the world I have found is relationships – family – friends.

No matter where I go in this world – Haiti, Guatemala, Appalachia, U.S. Indian Reservation, Russia, Estonia, Qatar, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico – or across the street or to another U.S. state – it’s relationships that are common to us all.

As you in the U.S. give thanks this year – and friends, colleagues, and acquaintances around the world join in – let me encourage you to think outside the usual box. Where are your relationships good – and  you are thankful? Where are they not so good – and what can you do to take a step toward wholeness?

Each new day is an opportunity to grow a relationship, repair a relationship, honor a past relationship, and create new relationships. I’m thankful for the chance.

Peak performance never just happens. Whether in business or sports, there are some identifiable levels that are a part of every success story. Where are you strong? Where could you level up?

Level 1: Self-Awareness – this is a journey not a destination. Self-aware people are always growing in their awareness. Knowing who you are and embracing who you are, these are core components of self-awareness.

Self-aware is about both how you see you and if you understand how you are perceived by others.

Level 2: Embrace Your Brain – successful people control their thoughts and the direction of those thoughts, rather than being hijacked by their brain. I’ve always said that leaders are learners. Self-aware leaders learn about the amazing & powerful brain and how it can get in their way.

Level 3: Check Your Ego – success always demands a healthy dose of ego. Too little and success is not possible because a small ego will not allow you to take the risks necessary. Too much ego and you will not be aware of the cracks in your armor that can easily derail a successful journey. Successful people don’t think of themselves as more than they are and they certainly don’t think of themselves as less than they are.

Level 4: Know Your Comfort Zone – No peak performance ever happened inside a comfort zone. Successful people learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. There are 3 zones of which to be aware: Comfort, Learning and Panic. The Learning Zone is where success resides. Panic does nothing positive.

Level 5: Eliminate Blame – A success journey is paved with accepting responsibility for decisions, attitude, words and actions. Blame will not be found on this road. You may not like your circumstances, you may not have chosen them, but if you blame people/circumstances you’ll also never succeed through them.

Level 6: Self-Talk – Positive self-talk is a hallmark of successful people. Elite athletes have learned how to deal with failure, for instance, not allowing negative experiences to weigh them down. Instead, elite people use failure and difficulty as learning tools.

If you wouldn’t let your friends talk to you the way you talk to yourself, you can make a choice to value yourself more.

Level 7: Self-Care – If you are not at your best, your body and mind will not be able to support your drive to succeed. Sleep, diet, hobbies and relationships are just a few of the components to consider in taking care of yourself. Successful people take care of themselves, realizing that self-care is not selfish.

Where are you succeeding? Where can you level up?

In addition to the business leaders and businesses that I work with, I spend a lot of time with sports teams as well.  The similarities are endless because they both involve human beings and what I do is all about people. It’s people who help a team succeed in business. It’s people who win championships in sports. No matter where you find yourself, the culture in which you live and work is YOUR responsibility.

In October, I was privileged to continue my work with Denison University Swim & Dive teams. When I was with the mens’ team, the 2018 DIII National Champions, I posed the question: “Who holds this team accountable?”

One young man said, “I do.” After a pause he added: “We should all be saying that!”

BOOM!

That’s a championship culture! They got it. I got it. I’ve asked that question across the country and that’s the best answer I’ve ever heard.

The individual athlete always does better when they are on a team and that team lives out accountability. In a Championship Culture, each individual MODELS the culture, REINFORCES the culture, and PROTECTS the culture.

That approach will require some tough decisions along the way. Behaviors that don’t model, reinforce, or protect the culture must be ruled out of bounds, unacceptable. Coaches need to speak. up. Athletes need to speak up.

You know what your culture is by what happens when the coaches aren’t around. That’s why everyone on a championship team is accountable for the culture and corresponding behaviors.

It’s a journey to that place. And every season there are new converts to be made and long-time converts to keep connected.

Here are some ways it works in the every day:

Is what you are _______________, MODELING, REINFORCING, or PROTECTING the culture?

…SAYING – WORDS matter…

…DOING – ACTIONS matter…

…SHARING – RELATIONSHIPS matter…

Captains and other leaders might ask: “H0w is this behavior MODELING, REINFORCING, or PROTECTING our culture? Is there a different way to say it/do it that would be more helpful?”

Jeff Raker

Level Up Leadership Coaching