Beyond Half-time Adjustments
We’ve all seen it before. That (in)famous coach storming into the locker room with a look of frustration that changes to determination as he crossed the threshold. The player’s hesitant eyes, stinging from sweat watch intently as he enters.
After pacing back and forth for a few moments in the center of the room, he stops – stands tall and his hands begin to conduct his verbal orchestra.
Men, “You’ll find out, life’s a game of inches – so is football,” starts the coach in a hoarse, raspy voice. “Because in either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small… one half step too late or too early, and you don’t quite make it. One half-step too slow or too fast, and you don’t quite catch it. The inches we need are everywhere around us. They’re in every break, every minute, every second…”
As Al Pacino finishes his halftime speech from “Any Given Sunday” he makes the connection:
“on this team… we fight for that inch.”
While certainly over dramatized, the point stands – what are you (or your team) willing to fight for? What have you done to prepare for that moment? And what adjustments are you willing to make, to sacrifice, to change your trajectory?
Some say that good coaches have great game plans. Still others that great coaches make pivotal half-time adjustments. Some coaches proactively attempt to maximize their talent against the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing team. Other coaches focus solely on optimizing their team execution to amplify effectiveness and minimize mental and physical errors.
Different approaches. Same goal.
While I think having the ability to adjust in the heat of the moment is an incredible skill, I believe many times the difference between a good and a great coach isn’t just a good game plan or the ability to make adjustments on the fly – but in the dedication to preparation that occurs long before the event.
It begins with the daily grind. Conditioning the mind – not just the body. Instilling the belief in each player that they can achieve more – and empowering them to act. Identifying that hidden attribute that is often overlooked. It is that exceptional coach that takes the team beyond what they see as possible.
Do you have the grit to accept the daily grind?
Grit, defined as the passionate perseverance toward a very ambitious and long-term goal, is an important predictor of achievement.
Grit is what separates the best from the merely good.
Many will recall the UCLA Bruin’s basketball coach, John Wooden. The renowned coach nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood," won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period as head coach at UCLA, including a record seven in a row.
But to understand his success, you need to understand ‘Coach’. Born in 1910, he grew up working on the family farm and in time had a successful basketball career leading his hometown basketball team to the Indiana State championship in 1927.
Wooden went on to play ball as a guard at Purdue University from 1928 to 1932, earning three straight All-America selections and named college basketball player of the year. Upon graduating and marrying the ‘love of his life’ he began teaching.
As a teacher, Wooden taught his students that academic success was about more than grades; As a coach, Wooden taught his players that a victory was about more than the number on the scoreboard. He cared deeply for the athletes he led and encouraged them to be winners on more than just the court. To inspire his students and players to work their hardest, he developed the principles of his Pyramid of Success.
Be eager to learn and improve.
While at UCLA, he was devoted to ensuring that each member of his team had the discipline to become great competitors—and his players’ hard work paid off. Long before the term became popular, he taught his players to embrace the grind. To be willing to sacrifice. To value team greater than self. To do the things that may not be popular, but that bring positive change and respect.
Over time UCLA won 38 straight NCAA tournaments, had 88 consecutive victories, secured four perfect 30-0 seasons and won 10 national championships.
And while his teams were often ahead at halftime, he would reiterate the ‘little things’ that would make the ‘big things’ happen. He believed, “The work that you do each and every day is the only true way to improve and prepare yourself for what is to come. You cannot change the past and you can influence the future only by what you do today.”
According to Wooden, individuals must prepare themselves to the best of their ability, but their talents must be applied to the benefit of the whole team. And even after they had reached the pinnacle of success, he reminded his players of the following:
“Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.”
Motivated. Driven. Humble.
Grind, before it was popular. Grit exemplified.
We each enter our challenges with a game plan that we think will lead to success. Sometimes it is based on past success (or failures). Often it is founded on the fundamentals of conditioning, empowering, and believing in your team.
Certainly, as leaders, we must be aware of necessary real-time adjustments. Sometimes it is for us – other times it is for our team or organization. It takes courage, sacrifice, and humility. After all, if you are not willing to make the tough decisions – it is increasingly difficult to reach the place your potential would have you.
Are you willing to make the tough decisions?
But recognize, the ability for your team to carry out your adjustments has far more to do with the pre-game preparations - the groundwork laid out over time than the subtlety of the plan itself. It requires a belief-driven mindset and the willingness to engage adversity. And if they have faced adversity before, their ability to pivot and persevere is greatly increased.
Too often, we think one mistake or miscalculated decision will ruin our lives, our teams, or our company. Perhaps we become derailed when disaster strikes and become unwilling or able to adjust. Or we have enacted a tremendously successful plan for the first half but fail to embrace the second half adjustments needed as the crisis moves into the next stage. Perhaps we fail to recognize what the new or future state will require.
What challenges are you facing right now?
What thoughts are keeping you up at night?
If you are facing uncertainty right now, there is no better time than to assess where you are in the game – and what adjustment needs to be made. It is important to recognize, it is not the first half that determines the outcome. And more importantly, what we face in life is often not a finite game.
Force yourself to move beyond the half-time adjustment mentality.
Although Coach Wooden recognized the value of game-time and half-time adjustments, he knew the greater value of being prepared prior to the onset of the next challenge. He believed in his teams. He developed his teams. And he empowered his teams to believe in themselves.
Ultimately, it isn’t about the final score, or the adjustments made at halftime. Yes, it may impact the outcome. But remember as a leader – that a good coach can change a game, but a great coach can change a life.
_____________________
#LeadWithPassion
How your team responds says a lot about your approach in building them up.
Do they live for the half-time adjustment?
Or have they been trained up to belief and achieve?
And as Coach Wooden would say: