Champion Your Growth Path

“You need to continue to be a guy on the rise.” 📈 @CoachTomlin pic.twitter.com/Ob2dznCbcJ

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) June 15, 2023

Optimize your path forward. Most people benefit from coaching, including coaches. There's an important article about "The Coach in the Operating Room," by Dr. Atul Gawande. He shares his experience and professional concerns about not getting better. "Surgical mastery is about familiarity and judgment." 

The best coaches and the best leaders seek improvement. Rejecting input because of experience and knowledge forgets the saying, "Pride goeth before the fall." Be a lifelong learner. 

Make our athletic career a metaphor for life improvement. There's a valuable book, "What Got You Here Won't Get You There." Here's a ChatGPT summary with a few highlights:

High Points from the Book:

1. The Success Paradox

• Successful people often assume that what made them successful will continue to work indefinitely.
• This assumption leads to blind spots that prevent further growth.

2. The 20 Habits That Hold Leaders Back

Goldsmith identifies common behavioral flaws among successful professionals, such as:

• Winning too much – The need to always win, even in trivial matters.
• Adding too much value – Always trying to improve others’ ideas, which can demotivate them.
• Passing judgment – Offering opinions when they aren’t needed.
• Making excuses – Blaming external factors instead of taking responsibility.
• Clinging to the past – Using past achievements or experiences as justifications for current behavior.
• Refusing to express regret – Avoiding apologies even when they are warranted.
• Failing to express gratitude – Not recognizing or thanking others for their contributions.
• Not listening – Being distracted or dismissive when others speak.
• Withholding information – Keeping key details from others as a way to maintain control.
• Playing favorites – Rewarding loyalty over performance, leading to resentment.

3. The Power of Feedforward

• Instead of focusing on what went wrong, focus on future improvements.
• Ask others for suggestions on what to do better, not just criticisms of the past.

4. The Importance of Apologizing

• A sincere apology can repair damage and restore trust.
• Many high achievers struggle with apologizing because they equate it with weakness.

5. Changing Behavior Requires Commitment

• Leadership improvement is about behavioral change, not intelligence or technical skills.
• Feedback and accountability help sustain positive changes.

6. The Role of Coaching and Follow-up

• Leaders need external input to see their blind spots.
• Regular follow-ups ensure that improvements stick.

As we acquire more experience and responsibility, taking coaching can become more difficult, blocked by ego. Feedback is backward looking; advice looks forward. 

Develop frameworks for problem solving. It could be something simple like the Feynman Technique:

• Name the problem. What's the diagnosis?
• Explain it. What does it mean? 
• Study it. How can we obtain a deeper understanding?
• Simplify it. Clarity wins. 

In my opinion, success for MVB 25 means dominating serve and serve-receive. That doesn't mean setting, attacking, and blocking won't matter. Yes, the flavors of back row defense will matter, too. But serve and serve-receive are the opportunities to initiate offense and defense. There's a saying, "one bad pass often leads to another." 

The best teams have strong service and exceptional serve-receive. The offseason is the time seek mastery. 

Lagniappe. Athletes change their center of gravity to prepare and to execute actions.