“Escape competition through authenticity.” -Naval Ravikant
But when you start doing “you”…
People are going to tell you to knock it off. Or not select you in the hiring process.
I’ll explain with 4 case studies.
Case Study #1
I was listening to Gareth Southgate on the High-Performance Podcast, and he said outside perception creates a lot of unnecessary noise around his coaching.
Paraphrasing Southgate:
Because I’m not seen shouting on the sidelines and super animated in post game press conferences, I’m labeled that “I don’t care.”
Every coaches style is a bit different and that narrative is and probably never was true. There is a space for “quiet leadership, reserved personalities and introverts.”
The coaches like Southgate that actually have the stones to be themselves are now being attacked for… Being themselves.
And it’s not just “media perception.” The bigger issue is it’s the perception of GMs and owners that are in charge of hiring.
“Coaches who can battle their own ego and do the right thing for the development of the players often get passed over in job searches,” one MLS academy coach said. “They get a reputation: ‘He doesn’t win .’ With less vocal coaches, if he wins, they assume it’s the players. Evaluation is pretty broken.”
-Doug Lemov, The Coaches Guide to Teaching, pg 238
But wait, there’s more.
Case Study #2
Don Granato is the 2nd coach that takes heat for being his authentic self. Here’s what he had to say about the outside perception of how he carries himself.
This man has an incredible perspective and has some lived experiences that most of us wouldn’t want to go through. If he smiles when he walks into the Buffalo Sabres facility on a morning after they lost 6-2 the night before. That’s okay.
Don is a cancer survivor, don’t you think that gives a man perspective on:
Making each day great
Living more in the moment
Not sweating that his team lost a game of hockey the night before
Case Study #3
Sheldon Keefe. The user experience of playing for Babcock one day and Keefe the next must have been a complete culture shock to the players.
One day you’re being bag-skated, the next day the music is pumping and you’re on 3 different ice sheets working on skills.
If you’ve read any on some of the sweeping changes that have happened since Keefe took over, you’ll know what I mean. I’m excited to see their All or Nothing series.
Keefe is doing a lot of the same things as this next coach, but he’s facing way more heat because it “isn’t working in Toronto yet.” You have to win a Stanley Cup to think what Keefe is doing works I guess. If you don’t win it all, you aren’t on the right track… Is #firekeefe trending yet?
Case Study #4
Jared Bednar. Colorado Avalanche HC.
I was watching the playoffs on NBC sports and saw an intermission feature on MacKinnon. I paused it at this moment when I caught a glimpse of this sign in their room.
Part of the culture of a Stanley Cup contending team.
“This is fun!”
Not a beer league team, the Colorado Avalanche.
It’s part of their ethos.
It’s part of what they do every day.
And it’s so counter-culture in the current NHL.
It’s supposed to be “work” and “serious.” Doesn’t sound like very much fun.
But just like Colorado doesn’t do a lot of on-ice habits that were staples in Hockey 101 textbooks of yesteryear, their culture is not status-quo either.
And by the way… That’s okay.
Let’s Not Go Backward Now
Back in the ’90s and early 2000s, there was less nuance in the coaching craft. We coached people the way we were coached. And that was often a militaristic, top-down, do what I say style.
My buddy Kevin Nogueira always reminds me of this Scotty Bowman-ism:
My players hated me 364 days a year, and liked me the day they got their Stanley Cup ring.
As a kid that grew up in Detroit and watched the magic that was his Red Wings era teams, I have nothing but respect for what he accomplished… But it can’t just be about what he accomplished. As someone who is a huge proponent of the “user experience” our players have while playing for us, I can’t help but feel like that way is misguided.
But there is good news…
The “Adapting of the Guard”
Somebody got smart and challenged the status quo.
Coaching craftsmen like Mark Bennett invented “Needs-Centered Coaching.”
Coaches like Southgate, Keefe, Bednar, Granato were challenging the status quo and shaping new environments for players to grow.
It’s different. It’s better. And we don’t want to lose these people in the coaching profession.
We need more of them, not less.
So let’s stop attacking them when they come to the rink with a smile on their face.
Don Granato loves his job. And that’s okay.
Southgate is quiet. And that’s okay.
Keefe lets his players listen to music at practice. And that’s okay.
Bednar has created a culture at the highest level of hockey based around… wait for it…
“Fun”
Unheard of. But that’s okay.
Don’t cancel them.
We need them.
And more like them.
Content is not complacent.
Quiet leadership is not “ lack of giving a shit.”
Feeling good after “playing well but losing” the game is not, “ unacceptable behavior.”
Having fun at the rink is not, “lacking commitment.”
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