The Carolina Way

My wife and I had a kid-free night earlier this week, so we stopped by the library and enjoyed the time to browse books outside of the children's selections.  I stumbled across The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching, by Dean Smith, Gerald D. Bell, and John Kilgo.

Even though I grew up as North Carolina Basketball fan, I've never read much about legendary Coach Smith. I admit that I may be a bit bias, but this book has become one of the best I have read all year and may be the best leadership book I've read in the last two years. The reason may be my love for basketball and admiration for UNC.

Each chapter is divided into three parts. The first part is Dean Smith discussing his coaching experiences. The second part consists of players reflections, and the third part is a business application.  The business application probably had the least amount of impact, because as you read the first two parts, your mind is already drawing connections from the basketball metaphor to the business.

The book is also divided into three parts and is broken down by one of Dean Smith's overarching philosophies; "play hard, play together, play smart."  If you are in business and love basketball this is worth flipping through. Especially, as March Madness arrives.

Four Phase Movements of a Team

Frederick Bales, a Harvard psychologist, suggests that there are four phases that teams go through emotionally on a given project. Gerald D. Bell, along with John Kilgo, refers to them as "the four natural phase movements of the life of a group.*"

As a leader, identifying and recognizing these four phases in your team will have an impact on momentum. Whether a project is completed or not, teams experience all four stages and if you try to pick up on the next project too early without allowing time for the phases to pass, you may deceive yourself and try to falsely force momentum rather than letting momentum develop on it's on.

The Four Phases
1. The Task Phase:
Teams plan and execute.

2. Goal Attainment Phase:
Teams complete the work, whether they succeed or fail.

3. Social-Emotional Phase:
Teams express emotions about their performance that are suppressed during phase 1 and 2. If emotions are too high or too low, recovery takes longer.

4. The Latent Phase:
A time of reflection. A time for rest and processing their experience. It's when teams recover and retool for the the next project.

Without sufficient time to recover, pushing a team into the next assignment can actually decrease momentum rather than increase it. Leaders who can build fun and flexibility into work and post-work can create an ideal environment that allows teams to get through these phases with ease and overcome fatigue.

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* The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching. The Penguin Press, 2010. p118.

Ritual

Basketball coaches teach players to develop a ritual at the free throw line. Whether it is three bounces and a shot, or take a deep breath spin the ball and take a shot, players learn to focus on the ritual of taking the shot. This keeps players from allowing the pressure of the game to get them distracted. If a player is thinking about winning and losing based on whether he makes the basket, then his focus on what needs to be done in order to make the shot is lost.

Winning comes as a result of following the processes and rituals. Winning is the goal, but to dwell on the goal instead of the work that gets you there will cause you to come up short.

My generation is less concerned with rituals. Therefore, those of my generation who learn to use them will be anchored with confidence and avoid distractions in high pressure situations. They will win when others around them lose.

Before life falls apart, learn to pray daily, read scripture, and worship on Sunday with others.

Before you lose your job, learn to budget, track expenses, and live on less than you make.

Before you become unhealthy, learn to exercise daily.

You may discover with these rituals the negatives rarely happens. Find rituals. They bring stability in a world of chaos and confusion.

Favoritism, Leadership, & Teamwork

As Dean Smith, College Basketball Hall-of-Fame coach from the Univeristy of North Carolina, was working with Gerald D. Bell and John Kilgo on the book The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching, he was asked to interview some of his former players in regards to his leadership. Because one of Coach Smith's principles were to never show favoritism to any of his players, he finally agreed to allow others to interview a few of his former players but he would not have any part in choosing which of them were interviewed.

This has caused me to question whether awards and public recognition under certain circumstances should be done by peers rather than leaders. Particularly in a setting where teamwork is foundational to the success of the group, whether it is a sports team or a business. Recognizing a single event or accomplishment is one thing, but to regularly single out the success of one player over another for past accomplishments seems to defeat the purpose and concept of team.