February 21, 2009
Bringing your goals to life is achievable and involves a crucial next step—creating an action plan. An action plan details what you are going to do each day in order
to achieve the goal you set. The idea is to create a SMART action plan for each goal.
Let’s look at an example. Say one of your SMART program goals is
“To teach my players the skill of self-reliance on and off the playing field.”
Now let’s look at how to make this happen on a daily basis:
• Have players write out one (SMART) personal objective for each practice.
• Require players to write out their own scouting report for each competition.
• Require players to self-evaluate and seek out feedback from at least two other teammates about their performance in practice.
• Develop clear norms of culture that your players internalize and then hold each other accountable to.
Without regular attention and action – goals die. Take the time on the front end to write our your goals and action plans… the pay off is huge during the season!
Now it’s time to take your goals and test them against a common business framework. It’s called SMART and is an acronym to help clarify goals. Apply this criterion to your goals as you read through the letters.
• “S” stands for “specific.” Is your goal specific? The question to ask yourself is, “Is it focused?” Often we set goals that are too broad, e.g., “to improve” or “to give 100%.” In theory, these are good ideas, yet it’s hard to get a clear picture of what these mean. You want to set goals that are focused.
• “M” stands for “measurable.” Will you know when you’ve done it? What will you see? Can you count it? Can you time it?
• “A” is “attainable.” Is it realistic? Is it within the realm of possibility for your program?
• “R” stands for “relevant.” Is the goal tied to desired performance? Now look at the goal you set today. Is it relevant?
• “T” is “timely.” By when do you want to achieve your goals – set by what date and check-in dates. Think about the goals you set and decide “by when” you want to achieve them. Write down a by when date for each goal.
By the way, this is an excellent tool to use with your athletes. So lead by example and set SMART goals for your program. Your athletes will model what starts at the top; they’ll follow your lead. Start leading with SMART!
Here’s a handy goal setting sheet for you to use personally and with your team.
You have your philosophy in place. You know how you want to accomplish things. Now it’s time to identify what you want to accomplish as the coach. What are your program goals? What do YOU want to accomplish with YOUR program during your tenure as coach? These are not to be confused with team goals, which are set each season. Program goals are the things you personally want to accomplish as the coach.
As Yogi Berra wisely stated: “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.” You will end up somewhere as a coach—you might as well end up where you’d like to be. Be proactive. Identifying what you would like to accomplish gives you the greatest shot at actually getting there.
So to quote Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, let’s begin with the end in mind. Take a moment and visualize your coaching retirement party. Imagine a wonderful celebration where family, friends and former players gather to honor you as a coach. Imagine it in as much detail as possible – the location, the people, the decorations, the sounds, the smells… Two of your former players will approach the front of the room and will deliver a few remarks and pay tribute to you. What would these players say? What qualities of character would you be remembered for? What contributions would they mention? What important difference have you made in their lives? How do you feel about their words? Look around at the other players in the room. Do you feel you have made an important difference in their lives?
Take a few moments and write down your reflections. What did you learn about where you want to go? What do you need to do now to align yourself with that vision? Be as specific as you can be? If you want your players to remember how you respected them and acknowledged them, how will you do that beginning today? What simple action today drives you toward your goal? If you want you players to acknowledge you for your x’s and o’s execution and how you are a great strategist, then be a student of the game. Make it your study. Whatever the case may be this involves practice and commitment. Small motivations will move you toward integrating the habit into your philosophy and your daily life.
You’ve accomplished the first big step—getting your philosophy on paper! Now it’s time to up the ante a bit. Here’s the “I dare ya” part. Now it’s time to give your philosophy life by sharing it with other folks. Share your written philosophy with your players, their parents, your administrators and anyone else who will listen. Hand it out – often. Let everyone associated with the program know what you stand for and what’s important to you as a coach. Why? Because they will hold you accountable when you get off course. One of my least favorite yet most powerful moments as a coach occurred when one of my players pointed out that my behavior was not in alignment with what I had written in my philosophy. Ouch!
Your coaching philosophy is the foundation of your program. It not only guides you and your staff, it also sets the stage for your administrators, parents and athletes—it tells them what they can expect from you. Once those around you know what you are up to, they can and will hold you accountable. This may sound scary—it is, yet it will make you a better coach.
Sharing your philosophy early on reduces the chance of having misunderstandings that can sabotage the season and smother the fun. It clearly establishes the foundation upon which your season will progress and articulates your guiding principles to all constituencies you contact throughout a season. It ensures that your athletes know what to expect from you and what you expect from them. In the end, it ensures a good fit between athlete and coach, and in so doing, clarifies for administrators and parents what your program is about.
So here’s your assignment:
- 1. Share your written philosophy with your team. Give them each a written copy and then discuss it with them and answer any questions.
- 2. Distribute copies of your philosophy to all the parents. When you select a team, by default, you select a group of parents. It’s essential then that your athletes’ parents clearly understand your philosophy and expectations before the season begins.
- 3. Give the administration a copy of your philosophy for their files. An administrator’s job is to provide you with the support and resources to manifest your vision and build your season/program. If your administrator understands your philosophy, she can defend or refute any situation brought to her during the season.
So, I dare ya…get going!
Traveling without a map is risky business. Not impossible, but you get to your desired destination much more quickly when you have accurate directions in front of you. For this reason I ask if you have a formal, written coaching philosophy? If you answered “No,” you’re not alone. I ask this question at every coaching workshop I lead, and perhaps one or two hands may go up. So my question, “Do you have a coaching philosophy?” is an important one. If you’ve coached more than one day in your life, you do. Every coach has a coaching philosophy, whether it’s written succinctly or not. Every coach demonstrates their philosophy each time they run a practice or coach a game. Whether intentional or not, their actions and words embody their philosophy, and given the attention it deserves, it can lead you in the direction you want to go and grow in.
So you ask, “If I have one, then why write it down?” Good question. Coaches are well served to have a written coaching philosophy that functions as a de facto “mission statement.” Writing it down requires you to clarify your values and consider how you want to proactively shape your coaching legacy. Most significantly, having a carefully considered philosophy informs decision-making whenever you are faced with difficult decisions that inevitably arise during a season, such as how to respond to a star player who yells at a teammate or whether to play an athlete who hasn’t been working hard in practice. Rather than react to such issues on a case-by-case basis, you can make simple, consistent decisions that align with your philosophy.
A written coaching philosophy is the cornerstone to developing one’s art as a coach. It guides your on- and off-field actions. Your philosophy creates the context for everything you do as a coach. Here’s a powerful question to ponder on a regular basis: “Does my behavior, my actions and words, align with what’s most important to me as a coach?
Ready to write? Here’s a powerful 4-part exercise to develop your coaching philosophy. This exercise was developed in association with the Positive Coaching Alliance (www.positivecoach.org) as part of their Mentor Coach program. Start articulating the map you intend to follow. It will take you about 30 minutes to complete and a lifetime to master!
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