MARCH MADNESS LEADERSHIP LESSONS

So many great leadership lessons come from sports. This is why I am such a huge advocate for keeping our kids active in team sports. Team sports provide such a wonderful opportunity for parents to lean in a little closer to the kids and whisper something profound on the car ride home. That whisper can impact a life time!

During the course of the last 3 to 4 weeks, which are the best 4 weeks in sports, I noticed there became a few obvious leadership qualities to high light.

1. Bad calls are part of life. It felt like the refs missed every block / charge call. And in almost every game a key player got into early foul trouble. The media has had a field day replaying not only the missed calls from this year but dredging up most of the significantly bad calls from the last 25 years.

What I didn't see the great coaches doing was letting the negative emotion of a bad call to affect their team much past the next play. Oh, I saw a few coaches get their point across to a referee but for the most part they went to the next play. And at the end of the game, they made no excuses.

Referees, coaches, teachers, parents, bosses, friends and almost everyone else we come in contact with will make a mistake. Great coaches tell their players to "forget it and play on." Sometimes players can use that emotion as fuel to overcome. Brooks and Ryanne Corder have heard 1000 times, "Bad Calls are Part of Life!"

2. Believe in your team and give them something to believe in: We had a recent discussion in a bible study, did Peter start sinking after walking on the water because he doubted Jesus or because he doubted himself? What amazing power we have on our children, our staff teams, our classrooms, our sports teams, etc when we can say with conviction, "I know you can do it! I believe in you."

Kevin Ollie has noted 100 times how he has told his team, even after the losses that he believed in them. The powerful message that is flowing in and around today's leadership research is that people want to work for something they believe in. The key for the coach - boss - leader is helping the player - employee draw a line between the work they are doing and the mission/goal.

The big outcome of this leadership style is I have noticed unwavering devotion and loyalty to the coach. The players seem to all be motivated to win for the coach!

3. Great things come out of a culture that combines experience with youth and enthusiasm: Of course unbelievable athleticism doesn't hurt. I must admit I am not a fan of the Freshman led teams. I like the fact that many of the early upsets came from experienced mid major programs.

Our YMCA staff team has gotten younger in the last year. Early on that gave me some angst, but the outcome has created some new energy. Especially since the younger staff are such high performers. Maybe it's the excitement around developing new leaders, I am not sure. I hear coaches talk about freshman being a blank canvas and molding them into greater players.

Increased talent, regardless of age or experience raises the productivity bar. Competition is good and sometimes that wakes up and rejuvenates some of the veterans. I think it also creates a dynamic where youth and enthusiasm meets mature and experienced role models and mentors.

You can't consistently win with an all young team and maybe a team of all veterans gets stuck in complacency and a jaded reality of success. A good combination is the recipe for wins!