by Mandy Green, Busy Coach
By “Yo-Yo” I mean it is going up, it is going down, it’s going up, it’s going down, but it never really takes off.
Maybe you’ve plateaued?
Maybe you’ve hired a good new assistant and things get better for a little while, but then you lose that top recruit, that assistant leaves, and you go back down.
Honestly, that is where most programs seem to live.
There are actual phases you go through in as Yo-Yo recruiter.
First phase is you abdicate (gives things away to other people). You get busy and can’t get your stuff done so you give away tasks to your staff and you think they will be just fine. They ask a lot of questions and when they don’t do it as well as you want, you start to micromanage because their quality is so bad.
Then phase B is when you start doing everything yourself because you think it will just be easier, you eventually get overwhelmed, and then you abdicate again. Once again, they do a bad job, and so you resort to micromanaging again.
You stay in A and B. You go ABABAB and you stay there until you decide to not coach anymore.
As a result, coaches who work in this type of program stay average, and it is hard to move up into being considered exceptional as a coach.
And then you move into phase C, which is top down leadership. If you are working in a top down leadership environment, you are told what to do, when to do it, and everybody must do it the same way. The head coach determines what the way is, and it is translated down and that’s the final word. That’s the way we do it, it is in writing, and you must just follow along and follow orders like a lemming. It’s kind of old-fashioned military sort of way. Now, there is efficiency and scalability in that, to a point. But you will only get so far.
Taking it to the next level is phase D, and this is what I teach through my coaching clients. Instead of abdicating you delegate. Instead of micromanaging, you lead in a way that empowers your team and grows. Instead of top down you set up your operations bottom up. Bottom up means that the best ideas come from those who are doing the work as you’re translating the work to them and we are setting up a culture that grows based on their best practices put into writing.
To get to D takes some effort, it takes an investment in changing your mindset but, more importantly, it takes an investment in your infrastructure and that is an investment in your time and energy, not money.
First, identify which phase you are in. Second, if you are not to D yet, or are in D and not delegating very well, do an honest self-evaluation as to why things aren’t going as well as they should with delegating.
If you’re wanting to make a big impact as a coach, it’s inevitable that you’ll need the help of others. The ability to delegate is an important one to develop and master. Understanding how important your staff is, lifting them up to realize each member’s potential and allowing them to work toward their strengths will create not only a successful team but can multiply your results and efforts.
Mandy Green is the founder of the Busy Coach program for college athletics staff, and a trusted advisor for the coaches who work with us at Tudor Collegiate Strategies. To ask Coach Green a question, email her at mandy@dantudor.com.