The leaders of my church had our quarterly summit the other night. Our pastor shared many important items but the one that caught my attention the most was when he talked about “Cultural Responsibilities” for the leadership in our church. As I listened and took notes, I realized that this could easily be applied to any organization… including a football coaching staff.
These are responsibilities that we as coaches (starting with the Head Coach setting the standard) have to 1- live out and 2- pass down the line… first from the Head Coach to assistants and then the whole staff to the players. Here are a few of them:
1- Always have a “can do” attitude. One of the mantras I use that helps build mental toughness in our players is to make them say out loud: “I Can Do This!” When they want to quit, it’s time to hear positive self-talk.
2- “Have to” should be removed from our vocabulary! Rather, we need to think along the lines of I “get to do this. An attitude of “have to” means we are ruled by minimums instead of maximums.
3- Never say “I didn’t know.” say, “I’ll fix it!” Creates an atmosphere of personal responsibility… which, in my opinion, is sadly lacking in much of our culture today.
4- I do not gossip. Nothing kills momentum faster than gossip. Nothing destroys unity faster than gossip. You need to have a “0 tolerance” policy about gossip among your staff and players.
5- My tone of voice is encouraging. People have an internal antenna that responds to others’ comments in a powerful, emotional manner. We need to “Speak Life” into the hearts and minds of our coaches and players… particularly our players!
6-Delegate, but do not dump! For head coaches to assistants. For assistants to player… there is a huge difference between delegating and dumping. Don’t give someone under you a job that you aren’t willing to do. Don’t give someone a job without giving him the tools he needs to get it done.
7- Live with an attitude that says: “The BEST is yet to come!” This perspective creates and sustains hope. When a team loses hope, the likelihood of success decreases exponentially. When everyone else is discouraged, you as the Head Coach have to continue to “preach” this philosophy: “It’s going to get better! We’re making progress! The BEST is yet to come!”
If you want to change the atmosphere in your program; in your business; in your family… then as the leader, you have to carry the responsibility of being the “change agent” that produces a more positive environment. These 7 responsibilities will help you begin to “turn the ship!”
