The New Post Game That’s Trending Among High Performing Teams

Oct 26

5 Focus Areas of High Performanceby Brett Ledbetter, What Drives Winning

In this video, Brett covers What Drives Winning's five areas of focus with questions and exercises to spark thought on navigating high performance.

The New Post Game RoutinemyPerforma Mindset Performance Indicators (or MPIs) serve as game-to-game, routine evaluation feedback that aligns athletes, coaches and directors from consistent review for communicating information immediately following a game or competition.

The intersection of sports and technology present day provides an opportunity for athletes and coaches to become more intentional about how they perform. Any team that does not use an application that provides performance review will soon be left behind. Every team that does, gains a slight edge over the competition.

Reflective Evaluation Conversation About Performance (RECAP)The dialogue (conversation) between player/athlete and coach is one of the most important aspects of developing impactful relationships in sports. Athletes must develop a post-game habit of reflection in order to assess performance quality and effectiveness and realistically compete with intent. In doing so, it supports developing individual and team accountability, self-awareness and focus to improve performance.

Questions to PonderWhat do all if not the majority of coaches do post game?

Are post game speeches really effective or counter-productive?

Why don’t the majority of coaches in sports today have a consistent conversation about performance with every athlete game-to-game instead of telling them how they did, as a basic practice?

Do the programs and teams I oversee have a similar practice that we use?

How could having athletes assess their performance after every game improve, individuals and the team?

A Mindset Performance Indicator (MPI) is a performance review that athletes complete after each game. The Mindset Performance Indicator (MPI) establishes a feedback loop and regular cadence of communication that defines perception and highlights the gap between a coaches perspective, down to the individual.

This ongoing conversation about performance routinely asks the questions:

How do you (the athlete) think you did overall?

What do you (the athlete) think you did well (Strengths)?

What are your (the athlete) areas to improve (AIMs)?

What other insights and observations did you (the athlete) learn based on the game/competition?

If the game/competition is the test for team, athlete and coach — how do you define success and failure with performance? Stats? Wins — Losses?

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Listen to Brett Ledbetter talk about what society values in sports performance and “What Drives Winning”.

The Frequency of CommunicationmyPerforma’s performance self-assessment for athletes is designed for use game-to-game and creates a competition review index composed of quality ratings, strengths, areas to improve and hindsight notes.

Three important things, whether in sports or life is mindset, discipline and habits. Self-reflection and self-evaluation communicates mindset. Doing it after every game requires discipline. Developing the habit of consistent self-assessment fosters greater self-discovery for the individual.

myPerforma’s provides three-fold objective is to serve the athletic community as: 1) a post-game routine evaluation practice (REP), 2) a multi-sport coaching tool that focuses on developing character/culture/identity and 3) a system for communicating sport performance information.

Games are the test for athletes/players and coaches. In contrast, a student always knows where they are in class because of a grade but how do athletes understand performance? On the flip side, how do coaches communicate progress for the team down to the individual? Because sports performance is such a moving target, myPerforma provides a universal scale for communicating success and failure. It is a qualitative measure that communicates mindset, highlights the need of the individual and showcases collective growth.

Coaching By ObjectivesStandard (S) + Expectations (E) + Priorities (P) = Objectives (O)

Standards are the same person to person. Standards are consistent. Standards don’t change. Example: In basketball, a coach expects his point guard to rebound like his center from a technique standpoint.

Expectations are different from person to person as well game to game. Factors dictate expectations for how to perform. Using the example above, a coach might not expect his point guard to rebound as much as his/her center simply because of height, and position.

Priorities are different from person to person as well game to game. Opponents change. The game plan changes to adjust to strategy based on talent, athleticism or body type of personnel. Again, using the example above, the priorities for a point guard are vastly different in comparison to a center.

In team sports, teams must learn to work towards a common goal by organizing the skills, talents and abilities of the individuals. However, players must work to achieve both team and individual goals. How do teams work to achieve a common goal and balance individual objectives?

It is the responsibility of a head coach (or coaching staff) to coordinate individual efforts for collective success. In order to do this, the most successful coaches must effectively communicate S + E + P = O.

7 Keys For Coaching SuccessDefine your standards for the team.

Communicate expectations for individuals, ongoing.

Set priorities (Keys To the Game or KTGs) before every “test”.

Enable and Encourage athletes to complete a RECAP before sharing post-game thoughts.

Coaches compare & contrast (your expectations and the athletes against the outcome) and close the feedback loop with a response to every athlete’s MPI.

Give a post-game wrap up speech - AFTER - all players/athletes have completed their MPI (or RECAP) and use team and individual indices to hold them accountable for completing the objectives throughout the entire season.

Compete and repeat after every game.

Revisiting Growth Mindset as a Core Capacity of Sport Psychologyvia Association for Applied Sport Psychology by Jim Davis | Good Athlete Project

Growth mindset is a mental schema that has the power to influence our thoughts, decisions, and behaviors. The positive implications are many, and in a 2009 issue of Olympic Coaching Magazine, Growth-pioneer Carol Dweck identified that a growth mindset allows athletes to “embrace learning, [as well as] welcome challenges, mistakes, and feedback.”

A growth mindset guides one’s response to challenge and their ability to self-reflect in the face of setbacks. A fixed mindset, which is characterized by the interpretation of situations as unchangeable, leaves little or no room for personal agency (Dweck, 2015). In jobs, relationships, and daily operations, challenges are absolute. How one engages with those challenges (and their perceived level of agency within them) will influence further behavior.

When coaches refer to the life lessons learned through sport, growth mindset might be one of the most powerful.

The Language of GrowthIs the weight too heavy to lift or will the weight take all of one’s strength to move? Is the team across town too good to beat or will it take a coordinated team effort to win?

In these examples, the initial language is the product of a fixed mindset, which might come from a subliminal fear of failure. If one says that the weight is too heavy to lift, then when they do not succeed in lifting it, nothing has been lost. There is no need to give one’s best effort for a task perceived as “impossible,” and there will likely be little to evaluate. After all, the weight was too heavy to lift.

If one were to adopt a growth mindset and identify that the weight – heavy as it may be – will take all of one’s strength to move, thereby giving full effort, then the experience will provide a learning opportunity. Whether the weight is successfully lifted or not, the athlete’s best effort will provide accurate feedback regarding their abilities. They might be able to identify a sticking point within their attempt and adapt their training efforts accordingly, or reflect on their lack of rest in the days leading up to the attempt and prioritize differently in the future. An athlete with a fixed mindset does not reap the same benefit from a challenging experience.

There is a difference between a challenge being difficult and impossible. “Impossible” is a statement of finality. “Difficult,” when one is equipped with a growth mindset, is just the beginning.

Scientifically SupportedThe language of growth, if cultivated routinely, finds its way into other areas of life.

Recent research has identified potential neural correlates between the adoption of a growth mindset and intrinsic motivation (Ng, 2018). Ng’s research suggests that a manner of thinking walks a traceable pathway in the brain, which is also walked by those who demonstrate behaviors associated with intrinsic motivation. Neural pathways are not allocated specifically to sport, but can be activated while preparing for sport – these streamlined connections can then be activated while engaging with challenges in other realms (Seidler, 2010). The more often the metaphorical path is walked, the more entrenched it becomes (Sarrasin, et al. 2018).

With this in mind, an athlete might want to incorporate growth-based visualization in preparation for competition.

Envision being matched up against the opponent’s top player. An athlete with a fixed mindset might lament the ability differential (“she’s too fast” or “she’s too tall”). An athlete with a growth mindset will recognize the differences and make strategic adjustments to account for them.

Envision a referee making a call that goes against you and your team. An athlete with a fixed mindset might take a penalty personally and respond with anger, blaming the referee for the outcome. An athlete with a growth mindset will reflect on the behavior that caused the penalty and modify their technique.

Envision your team falling behind on the scoreboard and you overhear a comment from a teammate suggesting that the game is over. An athlete with a fixed mindset might see this as confirmation of an absolute outcome. An athlete with a growth mindset will recognize that as long as there is time on the game clock, there is an opportunity to positively influence the outcome.

The language used before an event influences the way participants engage with an event. Language that aligns with either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset will influence behavior accordingly.

Next StepsThe utilization of these strategies depends on self-awareness.

Intentional use of language, intentional cultivation of mindset often requires one to create space between an event and their response to that event. A practitioner must first become aware of the language they use in challenging moments. In a state of awareness, they are then faced with a choice: to fall into fixed, immobile, negative methods of naming their environment, or recognize that they have agency, the potential to improve, and may retain optimism in the presence of challenge.

Since challenges are part of life, flourishing in sports and other areas might depend on a growth mindset. It will not always be easy, but it will be worth it.

Athletic Director Performance Ratings (Part II)by Athletic Director U

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4 INSIGHTS FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE COACHINGby The Online Master of Science in Sport Management from University of Florida

Oregon volleyball breaches top-5, Louisville moves up in Week 10 Power 10 rankings.

Building The Inner CoachCharacter drives Process which drives Results (CPR).

Screenshot_20231019_093243_YouTube.jpgScreenshot_20231019_093057_YouTube.jpgScreenshot_20231019_093102_YouTube.jpgScreenshot_20231019_093125_YouTube.jpgScreenshot_20231019_093545_YouTube.jpgScreenshot_20231019_093555_YouTube.jpgScreenshot_20231019_093256_YouTube.jpgScreenshot_20231019_093250_YouTube.jpgScreenshot_20231019_093243_YouTube.jpgCBT-Photo.jpg6 Lessons in Leadership from Ted LassoDaniels adjunct faculty member Mia Elizardi shares her key takeaways from the Emmy-winning showby Nick Greenhalgh

Whether you follow his example exactly and bring your boss a pink box of biscuits every morning or not, fictional soccer coach Ted Lasso has served as an unlikely source for lessons in leadership and teambuilding.

After launching during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso has carved out a successful niche, bringing smiles and laughs to fans around the world. The Emmy-award winning series about an American football coach taking over an English Premier League soccer club has delighted its audience and picked up a cult following in the business world. Does anyone else have a mug about being a goldfish sitting on their desk?

Mia Elizardi

Not only does Lasso teach AFC Richmond to score goals and climb the league table, he serves as an inspirational model of 21st century leadership. Mia Elizardi, an adjunct faculty member in Executive Education at the Daniels College of Business, is a dedicated fan of the show and a professor who teaches leadership and talent development.

“This show is like a breath of fresh air; it’s an escape,” she said. Elizardi shared her favorite lessons from the show and how business leaders can apply them in their own workplace. This article contains show spoilers, so peruse with care if you haven’t completed the show.

1. Lean into vulnerabilityFor Elizardi, Lasso’s simple and unpretentious way of acknowledging his vulnerabilities is one of his strongest attributes. Whether it’s his lack of soccer knowledge or how he addresses his own mental health journey, Lasso’s ability to accept help is a key tenet of his leadership style.

“There’s no way that leaders today can see around every corner, and understand how inflation, the pandemic and global wars, and all these things going on can affect us,” Elizardi said. Lasso displays this most on the soccer pitch, accepting help from a variety of different sources.

2. Be open to good ideas that can come from anywhereBy acknowledging his shortcomings, Lasso is able to clearly see the strengths of those around him. As a result, he’s willing to accept suggestions from people throughout his organization, not just those at the leadership level.

Fans of the show will remember that Lasso’s greatest tactical advantage in the first season came from AFC Richmond’s kit manager Nathan Shelley, a role not traditionally involved in team strategy.

“It’s not the CEO with the title that has all the ideas; the ideas truly come from anywhere, and we need to collaborate and mobilize them,” Elizardi said.

3. Be a goldfishLasso’s most recognizable lesson is to “be a goldfish,” because the short-memoried fish is one of the happiest animals in the world. While he uses it to encourage his players to not dwell on mistakes, Elizardi said this lesson also applies perfectly to the business world.

“If you’re spending all this time in your performance evaluations worried about your weaknesses and developmental plans, you aren’t tapping into what makes you effective and magical,” she said. “’Be a goldfish’ is a simple reminder to let it go and move on.”

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4. Inspire confidence in those around youAs a leader, Lasso’s infectious joy and unrelenting support spreads confidence around the locker room like wildfire. In the business world, Elizardi said this has become a true differentiator in the war to retain talent.

“The new name of the game is all about talent management and strategic people alignment; figuring out how to find top talent, engage top talent, retain top talent and keep top talent performing,” she said. “I think that comes down to tapping into people’s individual strengths.”

With the support of his coaches and teammates, we see an interesting evolution with Richmond’s enigmatic star player, Jamie Tartt. Despite his reputation for selfishness in his past, Tartt blooms in Season 3, empowered to play his own style in crucial moments. The same tactics can be used in the business setting.

“Old school organizational models say, ‘here is your job description, competencies and skills you need to succeed.’ What Ted does brilliantly is he sees each person uniquely and individually for who they are and what their strengths and vulnerabilities are. He taps into really seeing them,” she said.

5. Doing the right thing is never the wrong thingWhether in his personal life or as the coach of Richmond, Lasso puts his beliefs and morals at the top of his decision-making criteria. That mantra extends to those around him, as the show provides numerous examples of people spurning personal gain for the greater good. Take Lasso’s switch to “total football” near the end of Season 3 as an example. Gone are traditional roles, replaced by a free-flowing brand of soccer that gets everybody involved

Elizardi said decisions made in the dark will always show up in the light.

“The way we make decisions and how we show up when nobody is looking has a way of defining our leadership brand,” she said. “Ted Lasso so brilliantly focuses on being a good person and thinking about impact, and how we impact one another.”

6. Never stop learningWhile it’s common knowledge in the business landscape that leaders should never stop learning, Ted Lasso shows the application of that lesson over three seasons. Once a soccer novice with little knowledge of the rules of the game, Lasso shows growth by the finale, ultimately implementing a winning strategy for his club. Elizardi said the challenge for real-life leaders is allowing themselves to have a beginner mindset and not pretending to be an expert in every challenge that arises.

“Ted Lasso thematically, in multiple areas, pushes on this idea of growing and learning. It takes vulnerability to have a beginner’s mindset, because in the business world, there’s so much we can’t know,” she said.

Lessons from the small screen

While it may seem strange to be deriving leadership lessons from a fictional, mustached midwestern soccer coach, Elizardi found the series full of lessons we frequently discuss, playing out on the screen in authentic and easily watchable ways.

“Not only is it delightful and puts a smile on your face, if you allow yourself to think about it, there are wonderful lessons and the way it teaches those pretty complex lessons in very approachable bites,” she said.

So next time you’re sitting in a boardroom, ask yourself, ‘What would Ted do?’

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