by Mandy Green, University of South Dakota
Coaching your team and developing leadership starts with having a vision statement, then developing a plan to achieve it. That’s the starting point for every business that wants to be successful, and it’s a must for college coaches who want to build a successful program.
A vision statement answers the questions “What will our program look like 5 to 10 years from now?”
A vision is more than a destination. It is an inspiration, a motivator, and a rallying point for a team. Results matter, but they are often the by-products of an effectively created and communicated vision.
Dan Tudor, the founder of Tudor Collegiate Strategies, talks a lot about how recruits don’t care about your past or your present, they only care about how they fit into your future.
Coaches who consistently sign the recruits they want have mastered really good communication and a great selling message on how the program’s future expectations, goals, and aspirations will meet the recruit’s needs and help him or her achieve their goals.
Communication of a vision is the difficult process of inspiring your recruits to see the future reality which you see, and are committed to make happen for them. Communicating your vision will help recruits focus their energies to see that their real needs might best be met through your program.
So, how do you do it? Communicating your vision is talking about the future, evoking images and responses in the mind about what it is going to be like for them over the next 4 years while at your college. Communicate your vision so people can feel it, see it, and feel it.
When communicating and selling your vision to recruits remember the following:
1. Clearly articulate the vision of your organization.
2. Be enthusiastic toward your vision, and let others see your passion for that vision.
3. Repeatedly share the vision in various ways.
Concentrate on the “what’s-in-it-for-them” and the what’s-in-it-for-you will usually take care of itself.
Mandy Green is the head women’s soccer coach at the University of South Dakota, and a leading organizational expert in the world of college athletics. Coach Green will be speaking at the upcoming National Collegiate Recruiting Conference on the topics of how to organize your recruiting and coaching life. Click here to get information on attending this one-of-a-kind event for college coaches!