Great leaders ask great questions and this past week afforded us an opportunity to observe some top leaders dealing with key items which affected the success of their organizations.
Therefore, all leaders need to know about the following five lessons if they hope to build a winning organization:
Everything Has A Life Cycle
The greatest enemy of today’s success is yesterday’s success. What got you here won’t get you there. Yesterday’s home run doesn’t win today’s game. These are all leadership axioms which came into full focus this past Thursday.
Click the image below to hear what what two-time national championship coach Jay Wright said about Kentucky coach John Calipari’s team-building philosophy following their shocking loss to Oakland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament:
Leaders, everything has a life cycle. Are you intuitive enough to know when something is over and no longer working?
For wisdom from Coach Wright, read 14 Leadership Practices Of College Basketball’s Best Coach – Villanova Wildcats Jay Wright.
Character Matters When Building A Winning Culture
Culture is who you hire.
Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy is the fastest rising player in next month’s NFL Draft. Some mock drafts even have teams trading up to draft him as high as the fourth pick. So what makes McCarthy such an attractive prospect?
He said in this article from The Athletic, “It’s about potential, traits, character — all that little stuff. You could throw for 5,000 yards in a year, but if you have awful character and your teammates don’t like you, what’s that going to do for you? I pride myself on the intangibles and being able to be a leader.”
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan also addressed the role character plays in team-building the video below:
#49ers HC Kyle Shanahan on how they built the 49ers culture:
“We wanted to get people in who cared about football. We described it as high football character.”
“When you do that, the culture usually takes care of itself.” pic.twitter.com/n8eXeowyrj
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) February 5, 2024
Leaders, are you first constantly self-evaluating to know if you personally possess the intangibles needed to continually influence others? Also, are you then looking for these same character traits in others when considering adding them to the team?
For more on the subject of character, read The Data Has Spoken. High-Character Leaders Have Happier Employees And More Financially Successful Organizations
There Are Predictable Models Of Success
Sometimes in the name of innovation, leaders make things too hard on themselves and commit unnecessary mistakes.
John Carter is the CEO of Noah basketball, an organization who has developed technology which analyzes the shooting mechanics of players. Regarding great shooters like Steph Curry, Caitlin Clark, and Sabrina Ionescu, he said in this article from The Athletic, “They do certain things the same, every single one, without fail. … They all shoot with a trajectory that comes into the rim very close to 45 degrees. That’s where you get the best control.”
The phrase which stuck out to me was, “They do certain things the same, every single one, without fail.”
There are people in your industry who are winning and incredibly successful. I would guess they have developed a successful system which they implement over and over and over again. As a result, they have achieved predictable success.
Leaders, have you developed a system which allows you to achieve predictable success? If not, are you humble enough to learn from those who have?
For more on Steph Curry and Caitlin Clark, read the following:
- 7 Leadership Lessons We Learn from Caitlin Clark and Her Mastery of the Logo 3
- What Steph Curry Teaches Us About Being Unappreciated, Dismissed, and Marginalized
Constant Adjustments Help Winning Organizations Continually Thrive
Flexibility and nimbleness are skills.
Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero is one of the rising stars in the NBA. As you will see in the video below, Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley discussed one of the things which makes him so successful, the ability to constantly adjust.
Orlando Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley on Paolo Banchero’s second-half scoring swing:
“That’s growth of a young man, but it’s also what an All-Star does. It’s what great players do. They adjust as the teams as he sees what the teams are doing and they thrive after that” pic.twitter.com/tmioLeuYCM
— Fawzan Amer (@FawzanAmer_) March 22, 2024
Leaders, are you constantly making adjustments based upon your personal performance and the obstacles you are encountering?
For more on making adjustments, read Leaders Make Adjustments. 7 Reasons Why Some Work And Some Don’t.
Leaders Should Enjoy Their Success
Leaders should enjoy the fruits of their labor. After all, celebration is one of the rewards for hard work.
UConn womens basketball coach Geno Auriemma is one of the greatest leaders in the history of sports. He was won 11 national championships and had six undefeated seasons. But it has come at a high price.
After winning his first title in 1995, Auriemma came to understand the price and amount of luck needed to achieve championship success. It was no longer theory, he knew what winning involved.
As a result, each subsequent championship was only a relief – and challenge for what was next. In fact, after one undefeated season, he immediately looked at longtime assistant coach Chris Dailey and said, “What are we going to do to be better next year?”
Auriemma said in this article from The Athletic, “You can’t get to where we’ve been without being the person who’s constantly chasing, constantly reaching, constantly wants more. Whatever you have — it’s not good enough.”
He added, “Only the painter knows where the smudges are on their painting. If da Vinci is looking at the Mona Lisa and you’re looking at it with him, you’re saying, ‘That’s the greatest painting there ever was.’ In his mind, he’s going, ‘You know in how many places I *^%$# that up? And nobody knows about it.’”
Auriemma’s “quest for the perfect basketball painting” eventually hurt his health. Frustration was also his constant companion. As he has gotten late in his career, it now seems at least a minimum level of contentedness and joy along the way would have helped.
Leaders, are you enjoying your success? You should, there is no guarantee you will be a winning organization tomorrow.
For more on the leadership of Geno Auriemma, read 10 Ways Leaders Should Handle Failure – Mississippi St Breaks UConn’s 111 Game Winning Streak.
Conclusion
The following are 5 questions leaders should constantly be asking when it comes to building a winning organization:
- Are you intuitive enough to know when something is over and no longer working?
- Are you first constantly self-evaluating to know if you possess the intangibles needed to continually influence others? Also, are you then looking for these same character traits in others when considering adding them to the team?
- Have you developed a system which allows you to achieve predictable success? If not, are you humble enough to learn from those who have?
- Are you constantly making adjustments based upon your current performance and the obstacles you are encountering?
- Finally, are you enjoying your success?
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