by Mike Davenport, CoachingSportsToday.com
This IS rocket science, right here.
See, rocket science is about putting things together that take off to great heights, or explode. That’s what this is all about.
There is this special thing about coaching — it doesn’t matter how good a coach you are, if you want to achieve great heights you need to surround yourself with Amazing People.
And not just athletes.
The same goes for assistant coaches, volunteers, organizers, trainers, leaders, etc. Amazing People make the difference.
All-the-difference.
In fact, anywhere people are involved, THEY are often the limiting factor. You want great results? Amazing People will get you closer to your dream.
To me, one story that enforces this is Apollo 13. Three astronauts came home because Amazing People did Amazing Things. (That what Jim Lovell told me when I met him years ago.)
The Amazing Puzzle
But finding, and then keeping, Amazing People is like a jig-saw puzzle, with lots of small moving pieces. And it is not easy.
For my team, every year, I have to do this find-and-keep puzzle process. It can be crazy, daunting, exhausting but it is worth every single second of BST (blood, sweat, and trauma).
I’ve teased out how we do it into 11 simple steps.
The first eight focus on finding Amazing People and the last three on keeping said Amazing.
8 Simple Steps For FINDING Amazing People
- Assess What Amazing You Need. Assessing what you need is a step often skipped. Several years ago I realized that I didn’t need JUST an assistant coach, I needed an Amazing Assistant. One who would be great at the things I was terrible at. Knowing that was what I needed became instrumental in us hiring our current assistant who has been hands down Amazing.
- What Do You Have To Offer? Amazing people come with a price tag. What are you prepared to pay? Are there financial incentives, growth opportunities, special arrangements that would make it enticing? Knowing up front can reduce mis-steps and missed opportunities later.
- Where Does Your Amazing Hang? Where do your future Amazing People hang out? That’s wicked critical to know. If you’re looking for an amazing football recruit, he’s probably not reading “Ice Hockey Weekly.” Amazing rowing coaches don’t usually go to football conventions. SIDs might be where sport statistics live. One thing I’ve learned is that Amazing People tend to hang with other Amazing People (hold that thought for 30 seconds.)
- Announce To Amazing. When you know what you are looking for, and where they hang, let them know you are looking. Real straight, referrals from other Amazing People have worked out better than any other ad, agency, or systematic method. I’m not saying those things won’t work for you, I’ve just had great success with asking and listening to other Amazings.
- Communicate. Announce and communicate, it sounds simple, right? And it is with Amazing People. Communicating is one thing that makes them Amazing. Something to keep in mind as you move ahead.
- Interview.Sit down (or stand, or walk, or run) and have a good talk. In person. Digital is fine for opening the door, but live, face-to-face, look-in-their eyes talks are way better.
- Make An Offer.You already know what you can offer, from Step 2, so this is the easiest step of them all.
- Seal The Deal. With agreement in the air, take the final step. Sign the papers, shake the hands, or get the deposits. Now’s the time to make whatever needs to happen to happen.
3 Simple Steps For KEEPING Amazing People
The easy part is over. Once you’ve got em, you need to keep em.
How?
Well, there are three avenues that I’m aware of.
- Relate.There’s a great book I’ll recommend in a second. A thought-shifter. It’s called, Love ‘Em or Lose ‘Em.The authors recommend a multitude of steps to keep Amazing People.
Here’s several:
- Show respect
- Energize the job
- Share information
- Don’t be a jerk
- Be a mentor
- Encourage passion in them
- Reward and praise
- Give them space
- Tell the truth
- Listen to them
- Sustain wellness
- Yield power
All good advice, especially if you dig down into it. (You can find the book right here.) Ah but there’s more.
10.Get Out Of The Way. I’ve learned this the hard way … when you work with Amazing, let Amazing work. I know it’s hard to get out of the way, to delegate, yield. Get over it. Do it.
11. Help Them Grow.All the Amazing People I’ve ever met had at least this in common, they wanted to keep getting more amazing. Help them do that and you increase the chances they’ll stay. Stifle the growth and you will need to start this whole process over again.
What’s Your Excuse?
These tips are not magical, mystical, or complicated. In fact, you could consider them downright boring. However, applying these simple steps could mean attracting and retaining people who can help you achieve your dreams. Look at is this way: You’ve invested a lot to get where you are today. A little more investment might pay off in amazing ways.