A Team In A Deep, Deep Hole
This past Monday evening, the Kansas Jayhawks trailed the North Carolina Tar Heels by 15 points, 40-to-25 at halftime of the NCAA men’s college basketball championship game. Jayhawks’ head coach Bill Self could have addressed the team’s poor first-half performance a number of ways:
- He could have kicked over the water cooler and broke a blackboard as you often see in movies or hear about.
- He could have been solemn and expressed disappointment over missing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
- He could have been gentle and quiet while reminding the team of what a great year it was and how proud he was of them.
- He could have been passive and simply delegated to the assistant coaches the task of communicating halftime adjustments.
But he chose another path.
Coach Self said, “I didn’t say much. I told them at half, ‘Would you be rather down 15 with 20 minutes left or down 9 with 2 minutes left?’ They said, ‘Let’s take 15.’ They played off that.”
The Jayhawks then proceeded to outscore the Tar Heels 20-6 to start the second half and would go on to win the game 72-69. Coach Self had given the team the right words at the right time. As leaders, we can learn several lessons from Coach Self’s halftime speech:
Leaders Must Remain Positive
This does not mean leaders should not evaluate reality. But Coach Self knew there was still time left to win the game if the Jayhawks did the things necessary to win.
Leaders Must Provide Hope
Leaders should always point to a brighter tomorrow. Coach Self was providing hope and let his players know there was still a chance for victory.
Leaders Must Believe In Their People
Coach Self’s speech was not patronizing or full of empty promises. Because he knew how much work they had put in, how they played throughout the year, and what type of young men they were, they still had a chance for victory
Leaders Must Reframe Adversity
Michael Lombardi of The Daily Coach wrote extensively about this topic in a wonderful article you can read here. Lombardi wrote, “Self’s team wasn’t happy at the half, and by contextualizing the problem, he persuaded his players to overcome adversity and eliminate their mistakes.”
You see, things can always get worse. This is what Self was saying. I’m paraphrasing but what he told his team was, “Hey, we’re down by 15 with 20 minutes to go. But would you rather have that or be down 9 with two minutes to go? OK then, it could be worse. Let’s go!” Once again, I’m paraphrasing but you get the point.
There are leaders reading this post today who should reframe the adversity they are currently facing. Yes, there is work to be done and issues to be addressed. But it could be worse.
Conclusion
Because Coach Self addressed the team’s difficult situation with a healthy perspective and calm approach, the Jayhawks responded accordingly and won the national championship.
If you are facing significant hardship as an organization, remain positive, provide hope, believe in your people, and reframe adversity, you too have a chance to reverse negative momentum and achieve all your desired goals.
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