Inspire
Me (March 2009)True stories, quotes and information
on inspiration, leadership and kindness to provide hope and direction in your
life.
How
to Build an Enduring Winning Program by Establishing and Enforcing Your Core Values,
Jeff
Janssen, Janssen Sports Leadership Center Look
closely at all the successful programs and you'll find a set of core values that
form the foundation for everything they do. Core
values are the bedrock principles, attitudes, and beliefs that you hold sacred
in your program and ultimately define your team's culture and success. While
not always overtly stated, these core values manifest themselves in a variety
of ways including how the team: - trains and
competes - holds members accountable -
responds during adversity and crises - values
academics and community service - handles victory
and defeat. The core values often imperceptibly
but powerfully dictate virtually everything a team does. Solid, clear, and consistent
core values form the foundation of success. Weak, fuzzy, or inconsistent core
values virtually guarantee turmoil, frustration, and failure. It's
almost always the head coach who first establishes the team's core values and
then drives them throughout the rest of the team. It's then the captains and assistant
coaches who help echo, enforce, and extend these core values to all corners of
the team. DEFINING YOUR PROGRAM'S CORE
VALUES
Because your core values are so
critical to your success, take a moment to think through and answer the following
questions: 1. What exactly are your program's
core values? 2. Have you invested the time
to think through and write down your core values? 3.
Can each of your athletes and staff members clearly articulate your core values? 4.
Have you selected team members and staff based upon these core values? 5.
How do you further inculcate these critical core values in your new team members? 6.
How do you model, monitor, and reinforce your team's core values throughout the
year? 7. How do you intentionally or unintentionally
reward, ignore, or undermine those who best live your core values? 8.
How does your program and/or school stack up? If
your core values are not yet fully established, embraced, or enforced by you and
your team, which my guess is true of roughly 80% of all programs, then this article
(and more so the actions you take as a result of reading it) could be the biggest
key to helping your program make a significant leap forward.
The
rest of this article provides several great ideas on how you can better establish
and enforce your all-important core values using the strategies of some of sport's
top coaches. THE CORE VALUES BEHIND
19 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Certainly there
is a solid set of core values that undergirds 19 National Championships. Carolina
women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance is a firm believer in establishing and enforcing
core values. Dorrance has invested the time
to put together a detailed list of 11 core values that form the foundation of
his dynasty. Not only has Dorrance listed the program's core values, he has also
worked with his players to find an inspiring quote that exemplifies each one.
He feels the quotes are often easier to remember and better capture the essence
of the core value. THOUGHT OF THE DAY Similarly,
Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams provides his players with daily doses
and reminders of his core values through the Thought of the Day. The Thought of
the Day is listed in the locker room and on top of the day's practice schedule. Like
Dorrance, Coach Williams' players must memorize the Thought of the Day and be
prepared to recite it when asked at any time during practice. Those who dare not
to take the memorization seriously are reminded of its importance by running after
practice. Coach Williams selects the Thought
of the Day each day depending on what he feels his team needs most at that time.
It's a practice he first picked up from his mentor Dean Smith. Interestingly,
the U.S. Military Academy also requires its cadets to memorize a series of speeches,
rules, and principles that form the foundation their core values. While committing
these things to memory may seem annoying and trivial at first, these core values
are so important to a program's foundation that they justify being memorized --
and ultimately internalized. CORE VALUES
DEFINE EXPECTATIONS AND GUIDE DIFFICULT DECISIONS
By
reflecting on, continually discussing, and rewarding your core values, you help
your athletes learn what is expected of them both on and off the court/field. Solidifying
your core values also helps you make difficult decisions throughout the season.
Your core values are your compass when it comes to making cuts, determining playing
time, dealing with conflict, etc. The core values serve as a practical decision-making
guide. As Roy Disney once said, "It's not hard to make decisions when you
know what your values are." Coaches are
continually faced with challenging issues including alcohol issues, Facebook postings,
hazing and initiation, etc. Discussing your core values will oftentimes help you
prevent these problematic issues ahead of time -- or provide you with a strong
guide on how to handle them should they occur. Florida
State football coach Bobby Bowden's core values are a part of his team's rules.
"My rulebook contains several non-negotiables that should not be transgressed.
Drug abuse, academic negligence, dissention, stealing, lying, and major crime
will get a player kicked off the team. Laziness, cheating, immorality, and illegal
activity will get a coach dismissed." No
matter how talented the player, there are certain core values and non-negotiables
that cannot be bent or broken to preserve the core values and integrity of your
program. 12 TIPS FOR ESTABLISHING AND
ENFORCING YOUR CORE VALUES
Use the following
12 tips to help you establish a solid set of core values for your program. 1.
Invest the time to reflect on the core values you feel are essential to your program. 2.
Study the core values of successful teams, schools, businesses, and organizations. 3.
Put down your core values in writing. 4. Discuss
the core values with your team and provide them with a copy. 5.
Work with your athletes and staff to find quotes and stories that epitomize the
core values. 6. Encourage your athletes to
memorize a portion of the core values each year. 7.
Use your core values in determining your team rules and as a decision-making guide. 8.
Do not take on staff or athletes who oppose your core values. 9.
Identify a group of leaders on your team who best exemplify and enforce your program's
core values. 10. Partner with your leaders
to have them help you drive the core values into every corner of your program. 11.
Set up a Peer and Coach Rating System to provide feedback to your athletes on
how well they are living the core values. 12.
Acknowledge and reward those who best demonstrate your core values on a consistent
basis. Investing the time to establish, teach,
reinforce, and enforce your core values could very well be the most important
thing you do this season and for many years to come.
20
Tips for Making 2009 a Positive Year! By America's Energy Coach Jon Gordon 1.
Take a 10-30 minute "Thank you" walk every day. While you walk practice
gratitude. It is the ultimate anti-depressant. 2. Sit in silence for at
least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to. 3. Buy a TIVO, tape
your late night shows and get more sleep - it's the ultimate energizer. 4.
When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement: My purpose is
to___________ today. 5. Live with the 3 E's. Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.
6. Read more books than you did in 2008. 7. Make time to practice
meditation, yoga, tai chi, qigong and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel
for our busy lives. 8. Do the "one thing" you have always wanted
to do. 9. Dream more while you are awake. 10. Eat more foods that
grow on trees and plants and eat less foods that are manufactured in plants.
11. Mentor someone and be mentored by someone. 12. Engage in daily
random acts of kindness. 13. Clear your clutter from your house, your
car, your desk and let new and flowing positive energy into your life. 14.
Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past,
negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in
the positive present moment. 15. Realize that life is a school and you
are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and
fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college
kid with a maxed out charge card. 17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep
the energy vampires away. 18. Each night before you go to bed complete
the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished____________.
19. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed. 20. Enjoy
the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy
it.
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