Unacceptable, Acceptable, Elite. U-A-E
I originally came upon this framework studying the work of Mark Bennett.
The goal of Mark’s coaching philosophy is eventually to make the coach redundant.
No longer needed or useful is the goal. It’s where my aim is when I start with a new group. We won’t be there on day 1, but maybe by day 151.
Using the framework of UAE is one way to get a team there.
The way I use UAE is constantly evolving. I have blended in other ideas which allow my players to better understand the concept.
Take what is useful and build on top by putting your own spin on it.
Here are the basics.
The Basics
Here’s some context: We have talked about Brian Kight’s 10:80:10 in a previous post, but here’s some background.
First, I get the players to understand this chart.
Most organizations of people stack up to this 10:80:10 ratio. In any given population there is a bottom 10%, a middle 80% (which Brian calls “the mountain of average”, and a top 10%.
80% of any population is performing behaviors and habits at average levels which net them average results. If your team has the same ratio as the normal population… Things will be challenging.
The goal is to set high standards of behavior so that there are no average behaviors in your culture. This will push your players to the right, turning 10% into more.
How do you set high standards? Ask your players to co-create them with you.
The Guiding
Then I ask the team:
If we all behaved on and off the ice in the top 10% of this curve, what would that look like?
What behaviors would we see? That’s your elite standard
Then you can use inversion and ask what do we not want to see? That becomes your unacceptable standard
Anything between the elite standard and the unacceptable is within a functionally acceptable range.
The thought is, “at least this choice I’m making won’t hurt the team."
UAE gives you:
A vision to strive for(elite)
An inversion to avoid at all costs(unacceptable)
A range of middle ground (acceptable)
The goal is the elite standard. As coaches, we want our vision of “elite” to be realized both in behaviors and execution of gameplay.
But we also really want to avoid unacceptable.
As a team, we would rather go forwards slowly than take any steps backward.
The Various Ways of Use
You can use UAE on a macro scale for team behaviors, game models, etc.
But you can also use it in each team activity. You can use it almost anywhere to get your players to take responsibility for their experience on or off the ice. In anything they do.
If you’re arriving at a restaurant on the team bus, prompt them with questions so they can decide what an elite team meal would look like?
Picture us giving the restaurant staff the best version of our team.
What would your UAE’s look like?
Let them start talking, they might decide they should have a dress code for the meal.
They might decide it’s unacceptable not to say thank you after they receive their food.
They might decide it would be elite for the group to bus and clean their own tables after they are done so the dining staff doesn’t have to do it.
When the standards come from the bottom up, your players are more likely to buy into what peers decided. This is the idea of decentralized command.
The SEAL Teams call this decentralized command which gives every member of the team ownership of the mission.
It transforms from “coach’s plan” or “what coach wants” to “our plan” or “what we want.”
On Ice Example
On the ice, it might look like this.
Coach: What is unacceptable in this drill?
Players: Not communicating, communicating too quietly, not taking 3 hard strides to get above the puck on a turnover, etc.
Coach: If we all were elite during this drill, what would that look like?
Players: Clear, loud, and concise communication, intentionally working to get above the puck on a turnover
Getting Others Involved
Want to take it to the next level?
Once you’ve established your standards before the drill, you can get your coaches to help you look for a couple of things you want to focus on.
One assistant coach can scan the team for communication, another can scan for the transition moment and if players are working hard to get above pucks.
Or you can get your players in on those roles, but we will talk about that in a different post.
Pushing the Standards Further
Your team should be getting better from August to March, so your UAE’s can change (and should) with the progression of the team.
What is acceptable in August might become unacceptable by December. What was elite then, might be average behavior now.
The framework isn’t concrete, if your team wants to keep pushing, they’ll push the elite standard further and further.
Conclusion
The beauty of this framework is that it can be used anywhere. If you don’t want to use it on the ice, you don’t have to. You can use it to establish what your team meetings look like. Or your team meals.
If you want non-negotiable behaviors that come from the top, that can work too. This isn’t the only way; it doesn’t exist everywhere.
But maybe you can take one piece of this and apply it. That has been my aim. Pass along what I’ve learned so people can make it their own.
That is what I did. I took a little from Brian Kight, a little from Mark Bennett, and made some of it my own.
I love this article and this framework you have put to the 10-80-10 rule.