May 13th Coaching Tip: The Pacers Are A Team.
By now, you are probably realizing that my love for basketball has me utilizing basketball analogies in some of my coaching tips. Last night, the Indiana Pacers soundly won their 7-game series versus the #1 seed, Cleveland Cavaliers. Very few of the NBA experts selected the Pacers. But, the Pacers have pulled together since the NBA All-Star break in February, and have been on a winning roll. They are winning! How? From my point of view, they each understand their role, their bench celebrates wildly and regularly, and 5-7 players each night score in double figures. They are a TEAM, achieving more than any of the experts expected. They have a couple NBA all-stars on their team, but they have a number of role players who are stepping up, accepting their role, and executing under pressure at a high level. They are the first team ever in NBA history to go to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals as a 7th seed and 5th seed. Never ever been done; leave it to a team to get it done!
May 14th Coaching Tip: Your Network Matters.
It’s one thing to have “Facebook friends” and “Linked In” connections, but it’s a whole different level when you can reach out to important people in your network to get a meeting with them. That happened today and yesterday. I wanted to gather some insights and feedback on an idea that I have, so I quickly shared why I wanted time with them, and they agreed to meet with me…and were also prepared to discuss with me.
Over 14 years ago when I exited Caterpillar, my career coach was instrumental in making me really leverage people in my network that can make a difference. And sure enough, one of those key people helped connect me with my current role at Merrill. It was pure timing. He and I had just connected on what I wanted to do, and then a week or two later, an opportunity was discussed while he was at dinner. He recommended me, then called me the next day. The rest is history; I’ve been at Merrill for nearly 13 years. Your network matters!
May 15th Coaching Tip: Thank you notes.
Today, I received the nicest thank you note from a former colleague who reached out to me for some help. She was wanting to implement a number of technology and process changes with her team this week. After I heard about her successes with the team already and also hearing her say that there may be some resistance, she and I discussed her strategy; we landed on B & B, i.e. to get their Buy-in, give it to them in Bite sizes. So we worked on a timeline of what the team had already accomplished, reminded her to celebrate those wins, and then what further process and tech changes to implement over the next few months…in bite sizes…not all at once. Wanting her to be successful, I shared with her a quick 7-minute video that might just help her know what she was truly requesting and connected her with another leader who had already successfully implemented these tech and process changes. It worked! She thanked me today for helping her think over her initial plan, nudging her to slow down just a little and give them B & B with a timeline and examples. I played a small part in her success, but was smiling when I got her thank you note.