• Urban Meyer’s sense of urgency to sign Tim Tebow.
• Tim Tebow led his team into late-night weight room sessions wearing war paint and bandanna.

Urban’s Urgency

When you coach football, every coach knows that the team’s heartbeat is the quarterback. At the time, Tebow was the number one QB recruit in the country out of high school. Meyer had a specific offense that he knew fit Tebow’s skill set. The amount of pressure Meyer felt to sign Tebow was immense, and he subconsciously knew that this single player could make or break his career with the Florida Gators.

The quarterback is in a leverage position. They hold the most influence to propel or descend the playing/coaching careers of those around them. They showcase the talents of teammates and potentially mask their flaws as well. Leadership positions in the world often have the same influence. That is why CEOs or Principals are frequently referred to as the “Quarterback” of the organization.

When Urban Meyer landed Tebow on signing day, he knew his career was on the right trajectory. He had the personality and leader he sought to run his team and become the heartbeat. These exceptional individuals are hard to come by. Tebow put Meyer on the national map. He was Gatorade for Meyer’s soul.

War Paint & Bandanna

Swamp Kings captured grueling late-night team workouts, where they would do training sessions that few other programs were willing to do, which set them apart. Led by Tebow, he would roll in with black face paint and a camo bandanna. It was a warrior-like persona that was contagious. His genuine passion for those moments trickled through the organization. In the documentary, when reflecting on those moments, Tebow said, “It was awesome!” A testament to his belief that “We can control a few things: our attitude, our effort, our focus, and how we go about treating our teammates.” Tim was the Gatorade for his team’s soul.

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Coach Campbell once said, “This last bit of losing has to get outta here.”

He felt his team was on the cusp of becoming a powerhouse. To fully ingrain this belief, he vocalized the truth that resonated with his players. It was the tipping point moment that needed a hard shove to reality.

Great coaches feel these critical moments and will their teams to win on and off the field. They create belief and polarizing cultures that players, coaches, and support staff want to be part of. They ooze positivity that the fan base responds to.

Coach Dan Campbell is the Lion King!

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Great leaders empower people. They create an innovative culture by giving support and resources to their team that produces development opportunities. Leaders pinpoint useful material that feeds the growth of others. 

• Books
• Articles
• Blogs
• Virtual classes
• Clinics
• etc. 
• Anything that improves performance through implementation.

Coaching Clinics

Glazier Clinic was the first professional clinic I attended. My Head Coach provided his staff a chance to attend the yearly meeting of coaches in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was an opportunity to immerse myself in the culture of football. It allowed me to meet the professionals in their element. I was able to see what great coaching looked like. These men took their craft seriously and made a continual effort to develop. From young twenty-somethings like me to old grey-haired veterans with seasoned raspy voices, coaches came from everywhere.

Our Desire to Expand

Universally, we all have a deep desire to expand and learn more. Leaders utilize this craving to help others discover their innate abilities. They do this by giving ownership of tasks and providing tools to succeed. Great school principals rely on department heads to design curriculums that impact students. They provide data and research-based protocols that will allow teachers to design an effective plan. Great coaches assign leaders within the team and provide them with leadership training. Leaders only give a person a boat with a paddle. They set their team’s course and provide solid instruction to increase the chance of success.

Take Action

With the proper resources and support, idea generation and prototyping are birthed. When team members are supported, they feel encouraged to take action. The creative spirit awakens, and ideas begin to pore out. Great leaders can teach their people how to harness this activity. The organization of thoughts followed by the implementation is critical. This is prototyping at work, designing products, tools, and strategies, and putting them into the world. If you’ve watched Shark Tank, you’ve seen the creative spirit in action. I love the process entrepreneurs go through to achieve success. The thousands of hours in development for their moment of success. They embrace the process and do not differentiate Work-Life-Play. Great Leaders lead their people down this path of discovery.

Actionable Guidance

Performance through implementation is essential. If the provided material is operational, it can save time and money. Players, employees, and team members must practice what they’ve learned. An awareness of the potential return on investment (ROI) is vital. Leaders need to ask themselves: 

• Is what I’m providing actionable? 
• Does the material lead to idea generation?
• Does it feed a creative workplace?
• Will my people apply these concepts?

If the potential ROI is high, suggesting such material is critical to developing team members. If the ROI is low, do not suggest it and continue searching for actionable items to provide.

Give Praise to Your Team

Once the team member has the support and resources they need, they enter the prototyping stage, creating actionable products that produce value for the team and the public. Encourage your team to bring you ideas. Strive to create an environment where everyone thinks big and innovates. Get excited when someone approaches you with new ideas. Help them bring the concepts to life with energy, supportive ideas, and additional resources. Leaders should verbally reward their people through praise in private and public settings. Meetings are a great place to speak about people who generate ideas. If you choose to implement an idea, speak to the group about who created it and praise them openly.

Conclusion

This was Part 2 of the Blog Series on The Innovative & Creative Team. Check out Part 1 to get up to speed

Once again, please share any content you’ve found to be helpful. My goal is to educate and inspire others to take on more and build their Youniversalife.

Keep Moving Forward!

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Innovative Culture

An innovative culture is created through storytelling, open dialogue, and action. A clear vision for achievement is developed by acknowledging the ideal final product. The foundational ingredient is creativity which leads to innovation. Idea creation must be standard practice and encouraged. Collaborating through deep conversation and mind mapping leads to effective workspaces. Fostering the creative spirit leads to growth. Embed these ideals in the vision and mission statements.

Vision & Goals to Promote Creativity

Every team should have a clear vision and goals. As football coaches, we routinely modified our vision and goals for each season. They would be based on the personality of the team and what direction we were heading. We would identify what we needed to work on to reach our goals. In my final season, the central theme that surfaced was creativity. We wanted to instill a spirit of invention in our team.

The best players across all sports are creative with their movement and strategy. As coaches, we found that many of our players were coachable, almost to a fault. We discovered that many players had become robotic. They wouldn’t do it if we didn’t tell them to do it. There is a line between coaching well by giving players the tools they need and overcoaching, which eliminates creative movement and playmaking ability. We wanted to promote creativity and give our players the tools they needed to play free and embrace their abilities. Give players ownership and let them explore their capabilities.

Encouraging Risk-taking and Experimentation

Bold Innovation

Fortune favors the bold – Terence

Innovation requires bold moves. We must overcome the temptation to remain the same or fit in. Seth Godin calls it creating a “Purple Cow.” In marketing and product creation, the idea is to create a unique message or object that draws the consumer’s eye. The “Purple Cow” in the field stops traffic. It takes courage to create and share something extraordinary. To create an innovative culture, leaders must encourage this behavior. They must take educated risks to model the behavior.

Football is the ultimate arena for creativity and risk-taking. Idea creation is at the core of coaching. There is a level of risk-taking when implementing new concepts and play calls. The coach draws up the play, teaches the idea, and the team practices it. The anticipation of whether the play will be successful or not is intoxicating. Many coaches remain in the game for years because they love this process. Coaches, players, and fans romanticize trick plays because of their creative spirit. New plays are an example of risk-taking and experimentation and must enter a prototyping phase.

Calculated Risk-Taking

Although it is essential to rely on the base offense and defense, it is also vital that we introduce new and creative concepts. It supports an innovative culture. Players and staff take on this growth mindset. There are other ways to implement calculated risk-taking into the team. Coaches take a risk when they identify a system they have in place and choose to modify it. For example, suppose meetings need to be more efficiently run, and they need to maximize their time. In that case, creative coaches will adjust how meetings are delivered and the length of time. If pre-practice needs to create more value, the coach will modify how it operates.

As coaches adjust, players can modify their behavior as well. They should be encouraged to explore and take calculated risks. If players are to experience growth in an area, teach them to explore and create prototypes. As a former wide receiver coach, releases off the line require creativity, planning, and strategy:

Creative Opportunity – Wide Receiver Releases

• Body posture they present to the defensive back
• Weight distribution
• First step
• Hand fighting
• Many more intricacies

In practice, wide receivers should have the opportunity to explore once they’ve established the basics. There are examples of this across all positions in football. Take advantage of these opportunities to promote the creative spirit. Talk openly about trying new things once the fundamentals are secure. Fundamentals should be practiced every day and reinforced. Expansion, however, is ok. Refrain from robbing players or professionals of opportunities to grow beyond expectations.

Conclusion

If you enjoyed this leadership post, take a look at Youniversalife Leadership. This blog post describes various leadership styles in greater detail. You can spend time identifying what type of leader you are.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Youniversalife Newsletter at the bottom of the page.

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On all your social media platforms. It helps Youniversalife grow and teaches more people about becoming better leaders.

Keep Moving Forward!

Ben

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There are elements of leadership that we all can cultivate.  Great leaders establish:

VISION and courageously pursue it.  They understand where they are going and communicate it effectively to those under their care.

LEARN everyday.  Highly effective leaders understand that everyone and everything has the potential to be their teacher.  They are students of their craft and do not box themselves into one specialty.  A priority is placed on reading and listening to information that expands their capabilities. Just like any other trade, leadership can be learned.

CREATIVITY that expands ideology and ways of operating.

SIMPLICITY that the organization can understand and execute. It is a belief that all staff must echo down the chain of command. Complexity creates stagnation and anxiety.

Leadership Styles

An interesting insight into leadership was found in the Development of the Vannsimpco Leadership Survey: A delineation of hybrid leadership styles. It discusses six leadership styles that are implemented in various settings in and outside of education.

Transformational

According to the report, “Transformational leadership transcends the limitations imposed by followers and organizational structure” (Vann et al.). Transformational leaders have the ability to connect with followers and meet them where they are.  They are terrific at creating relationships with others and are able to communicate their mission down the line.  Followers believe in the mission because these effective leaders make them feel important.  Transformation leaders are innovators and are able to create new ideas and bend boundaries. This is an appealing trait to most but can be met with pushback by some.  Not everyone wants change.  These leaders use their charisma as a tool to meet goals.  Be cautious however that this gift is not used in a negative way, such as pushing an alternate agenda. 

Transactional

Transactional leaders are task-oriented leaders who are concerned with managing followers, earning results, and preserving the chain of command. They also believe that followers need to be managed closely and motivate through reward / discipline systems.   This style of leadership is often deemed as rigid and leaders do not own their mistakes and cast blame.

Democratic

This style of leadership seeks guidance and information from followers.  They spend a great deal of time listening to their followers and discovering what the majority want.  This can often be counterproductive and short-circuits the decision-making process.  It allows others to feel important but can be detrimental in emergency situations when things have to be determined and acted upon.  This leadership style assumes that all followers have a base knowledge of the inner workings, objectives, and expectations of the entire institution (Vann et al.). 

Autocratic

Leaders who apply this method concentrate on all decision-making themselves.  They rely heavily on their own knowledge and ability.  They are much different than the previously described democratic leader.  There is a clear line in the sand where the leader stands and the follower dwells.  Organizational hierarchy is strong and followers know who makes all decisions.  This leader often believes that it is more suitable to be feared than to be liked.  The benefit of this style is that followers understand expectations (Vann et al.).    

Laissez-faire

The ultimate “hands off” approach to leadership.  The laissez-faire leader allows the followers to embrace their roles and believe that they know exactly what to do. A great deal of trust is placed into the follower’s hands.  This can potentially create dysfunction in any organization, where followers lose motivation and become increasingly unproductive (Vann et al.).

Situational Leadership

This is my favorite leadership style and crosses multiple leadership fronts to create a hybrid of each. In the world of academia, situational leadership makes the most sense. It does not confine itself to one method of leadership (Vann et al.). This style allows the leader to utilize a combination of methods to different situations and groups. The context of circumstances dictates the used leadership technique. It is the universal leadership style.

REFERENCES

Vann, B. A., Coleman, A. N., & Simpson, W. A. (n.d.). (rep.). Development of the Vannsimpco: A delination of hybrid leadership styles (Vol. 3, pp. 28–38). Williamsburg, Ky.

I have been greatly influenced by https://echelonfront.com/ which is a decorated Veteran leadership group that has tremendous content. I highly recommend you check out their material on their website and social media outlets.

Also, check out https://youniversalife.com/climate-culture/ which is my latest blog post on climate and culture in the workplace. Culture is the number one determinant of long-term success in all teams and organizations.

The post Youniversalife Leadership appeared first on YL.

Check out Ep. 14 of the Youniversalife Podcast as I dive deeper into confidence.

You can also hear at youniversalife.com

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It’s Monday after a tuff Friday night loss. The players are creeping into a cool, low-lit, meeting room. There is a reverberating hum of conversation that adds to the dullness. You can hear the crinkling of notes from the previous week’s game plan being stashed away. Several hooded sweatshirts are covering heads in an attempt to lay low. Foldable metal chairs begin to fill the space, dinging off one another, playing musical chimes into the air. Veterans have made their way to the front, while the youngins remain at the back, in a display of hierarchical structure. The game film has strategically been readied and is projected on the wall. Each player nervously anticipates what game clips are to come.

Comedic Relief 

The Head Coach enters the room with a steaming cup of coffee and notes in hand. He approaches the front, through the tunnel of chairs like a fighter entering the ring. He reaches his destination, turns, and smiles…

Coaching is serious business. Players expect coaches to deliver important information with a stern tone. When the message struggles to cross the boundary of understanding, great coaches apply comedic relief. They can speak hilarity into the difficult moments.                       

Read the Room

Sometimes the best approach is the unanticipated approach. It would be easy to enter the room in a fit of rage or ridicule. To leave lasting impressions on an audience, an unorthodox tone can be a cattle brand to the mind. When the expectation is fury, give them love. While they’re at ease and complacent, drop the hammer. When they lose and spirits are soured, give them laughter. Be willing to adapt and anticipate the energy projected by the team. Addressing a team should not be ruled primarily by the feelings of the coach. Consider the full spectrum of the team atmosphere. Especially after a Friday night loss.

The Elite Football Coach Blog Series

The Elite Football Coach Part 1

Human Behavior Part 2

Design the Unique Part 3

Balancing Act Part 4

Video Production Savant Part 5

The Way of the Pioneer Part 6

Death of the Ego Part 7

Sound Bite Coaching Part 8

Teach Monotonous Behaviors Part 9

Bypass to the Community Part 10

A Knack for Talent Part 11

Coach at Every Position Part 12

Craft Detail Part 13

Inspiring Coaches Part 14

The post Friday Night Loss appeared first on YL.

Inspiring coaches captivate an audience. They have an instinctive way of communicating to the heart. I love listening to motivational speakers, sermons, and pregame speeches. I’m fascinated by open-air preachers who stand on street corners and speak for what they believe in. Their strategy or teachings may be questionable, but some have effective deliveries. They all make a radical attempt to reach the heart and can be music to the ear.

Music    

We live in an amazing time of music. At any moment we can tune into Spotify or Apple Music and listen to what we choose. Those platforms even suggest music that we might like, based on what we currently listen to.  Pandora Music was the pioneer in helping listeners discover new music. Music is therapy for me. It brings joy and gives voice to the human spirit. It too communicates to the heart.

The Voice

Public speakers, vocalists, teachers, and inspiring coaches all use their voices to move a room. They each have a way of talking or singing that brings personality to their words. The speech has a sound and rhythm that draws attention. The delivery has a cadence that energizes the atmosphere. It’s a swirl of particles that enter the soul through the senses. The change of beat and pitch with articulated words becomes mesmerizing. Music artists like Chris Stapleton, Adele, and Manchester Orchestra’s Andy Hull are awesome examples. High-profile podcasters like Lewis Howes and Rich Roll demonstrate this in their respective shows. Legendary Sunday Night Football commentator, Al Michaels, is a wizard with his play-by-play announcing. Their vocals and storytelling create joy for all listeners.   

Crafting

Public speakers craft and continually shape their narratives.  Coaches are no different.  After speaking to their team, they will contemplate what adjustments are needed to help drive home talking points.  The pregame, halftime, and postgame speeches are personally critiqued. Coaches frequently wonder if their message was articulated, perceived, and digested correctly.  There is rarely instant feedback and every coach must lean into hope.

The Spirit

Before I stand in front of a crowd and begin to speak, I pray that God will give me the courage and strength to speak well. I ask that spirit will move through me and be delivered to my audience. I’ve done this in various ways. Many times, I have closed my eyes and bowed my head. Other times I have taken a deep breath and looked ahead at my audience.

Every time I speak to a crowd, my heart races, and self-doubt settles in like a fog. I always fight the urge to sink deeper into my chair and not rise. There’s always a desire to remain at the back of the room. Spirit is what shakes me from my spot and pushes me forward.   

When speaking to a team or class, energy dances in the room. The beginning of every speech seems jumpy. It’s like accelerating an old standard Tacoma 6-speed down the interstate. Once up to speed though, I smooth out and enter a space where I feel united with the people. The moment becomes an experience with others and I’m no longer just speaking.  I’m in “The Zone.”

The Zone

Operating in “The Zone” is a magnificent experience. People who create, often find themself in a state of magic, where performance becomes flawless. Some artists can remain in this state longer than others. Professional athletes operate in this space frequently. Writers, actors, musicians, and even speakers find this state of flow, where spirit moves and they become unstoppable. Inspiring coaches and teachers also enter “The Zone” with their presentations. They begin to captive an audience and win the heart.

The Elite Football Coach Blog Series

The Elite Football Coach Part 1

Human Behavior Part 2

Design the Unique Part 3

Balancing Act Part 4

Video Production Savant Part 5

The Way of the Pioneer Part 6

Death of the Ego Part 7

Sound Bite Coaching Part 8

Teach Monotonous Behaviors Part 9

Bypass to the Community Part 10

A Knack for Talent Part 11

Coach at Every Position Part 12

Craft Detail Part 13

The post Inspiring Coaches appeared first on YL.

Practice Structure  

There are many ways to run a practice. Effective practices include non-negotiable components for everything to flow smoothly and to maximize productivity. Written schedules can be created with Google Sheets. If there is one tool that every coach needs to be familiar with, it is this. It allows you to create organized practice plans. Our coaching staff used this as an instrument for creation. We compiled a massive library of schedules over years of preparation. We did not reinvent the wheel for each practice either. Sheets allow you to copy and paste what you’ve used. By doing this, you can modify those plans when needed.

There is an art to the perfect plan. Few things are more satisfying than creating a masterpiece. Each practice is broken into five-minute segments. Those segments make up periods. Some periods are longer than others. Coaches reserve time for the most critical work. The critical work morphs from practice to practice. Good coaches identify where deficiencies lie and focus on them.

Corporate Model

This method of scheduling practice is universal to other professional settings too. Break meetings down by time and organize them with Google Sheets. When I was Head Track and Field Coach for Madison Southern High School, I had a documented plan for every practice. I broke down each practice by event, similar to how a football practice plan is broken down by position. Corporate business meetings should have a detailed schedule to keep the conversation purpose-driven.

Collaboration

Google Sheets allow coaches to collaborate and plan accordingly. If organized correctly, each coach should have access to the document and will be able to modify it. They can input their specific drills and note what needs to be accomplished. It allows everyone to frame the practice in their mind and know what is coming. It eliminates surprises and helps the team stay on schedule.

If each plan is broken into five-minute segments, there must be a clock that everyone monitors at practice. The clock is an essential piece of the puzzle. It must be run by a trusted manager or coach who is constantly aware of what is taking place on the field. Practice organization is a key element to effective operation. Routines are created and players and coaches get in a groove. It establishes consistent end times, which allows everyone to leave at the same time each day.

Forward Thinking

This organization extends to calendars that include the agenda for the year. Forward-thinking, professional coaches anticipate when activities will take place. The off-season schedule must be set months in advance so players and coaches can plan accordingly. Parents need to know where rest periods are built in to keep balance.

Unite Strategy with Communication

Great leaders are organized and communicate clearly with those who work for them. They use tools that are proven to relay their message. Leaders effectively unite strategy with communication to create desired outcomes consistently. They meticulously craft their detail.

The Elite Football Coach Blog Series

The Elite Football Coach Part 1

Human Behavior Part 2

Design the Unique Part 3

Balancing Act Part 4

Video Production Savant Part 5

The Way of the Pioneer Part 6

Death of the Ego Part 7

Sound Bite Coaching Part 8

Teach Monotonous Behaviors Part 9

Bypass to the Community Part 10

A Knack for Talent Part 11

Coach at Every Position Part 12

Wrap Up

You can download the Elite Coaches Blog Series in EBook format at the Youniversalife Shop. It is free to download, and you can access it anytime on your phone or other device. I have named it The Emerging Coaches guide. Feel free to share it with your staff or anything considering coaching. Thank you and enjoy!

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