February 24th Coaching Tip: Talent Everywhere.
Tonight, I had the difficult challenge of selecting four deserving winners of four scholarships from over 94 applicants. Why so difficult? Because the talent on these scholarship submissions was beyond impressive. There’s talent everywhere, all around us. These were written by the high school seniors, and a recommendation letter was also included from their high school administrators. These kids were 100% student athletes, and shared numerous examples and stories of how they are learning how to be disciplined, a good teammate, serve others in the community, keep their grades in good check, win and lose, deal with injuries, deal with coaching changes, and on and on.
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest score, I mostly awarded the applicants with 7, 8, and 9’s. It was difficult to select the 10’s for the four scholarships, but I did it. The lesson that I learned here is that our kids today are juggling a lot and delivering in a very social world. There’s talent everywhere. Question: are you taking the time to witness them in action, mentor them, and help them become the adults that they want to become? They are ready!
February 25th Coaching Tip: Hold Yourself Accountable.
During three of my coaching calls today, it was all about helping the leader figure out what he/she could do to hold himself accountable to important goals. After listening and asking some clarifying questions on their priorities, one indicated $1m by the next time we talk. And before the end of the day wrapped up, he sent me an email indicating he had already done over $150k of that $1m goal. Another picked up on the number three. He needs to develop himself as a better leader, while coaching his two new associates. All three need to develop; he agreed to spend 3-5 minutes/day with them both, and also embraced the ‘rule of 3’ to help them develop. The rule of 3 encourages new colleagues to try to figure out the answer by digging in and being resourceful in 3 different manners, BEFORE asking the boss for help. It teaches them to “fish”, instead of interrupting someone else and getting the answer. The third leader that I coached had made great progress since July 2024, and yet he didn’t feel that good about it. We summarized all that he has accomplished, and then he pivoted and was ready to continue to be held accountable through yearend 2025. Hold yourself accountable, whether you have a coach or not. Accountability works.
February 26th Coaching Tip: Leverage Partners.
Today I had to coach myself. With three projects coming up in the next 90 days, I had to take some time to figure out WHO can help me, identify WHAT can they help me with, and WHEN do I need their assistance. We had an effective conference call at 9am, and by 10:15am, we had the plan regarding who’s going to do what by when. I was relieved to have these talented partners to work with.
I’m also remodeling a 95-year-old farmhouse, and boy, am I ever leveraging partners and specialists. At the end of nearly every day, my contractor will either text me with an update, send photos that are self-explanatory, or we facetime. He also does a great job of introducing me to all of his sub-contractors (partners), and my whole goal is to get to know them a bit, create a bond, and get a smile on their face. These men are helping me with electric, plumbing, demolition, roofing, siding, drawings, framing, drywall, leveling floors and walls, etc. You get my point; they are doing it all. I haven’t lifted a hammer yet and am 1,000 miles away. Leverage your partners and figure out how to get more done by leverage their expertise.