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Crunching the Numbers in Montreal
Now that the qualifications at the 2017 Montreal World Championships are finished, let’s crunch a few numbers.
Source: International Gymnast Magazine Online – Crunching the Numbers in Montreal
Now that the qualifications at the 2017 Montreal World Championships are finished, let’s crunch a few numbers.
Before we do, let’s note that at the individual worlds in 2013, there were 80 women who tried to qualify to the all-around, and 81 men. In 2009 there were 83 women and 74 men.
Women’s competition: Among the 75 women attempting to qualify to the all-around final, there were 16 execution scores of 9.0 or higher, and all were on vault. The E-scores of those all-arounders across all four events ranged from 1.466 to 9.300. On balance beam, there was only one E-score score of 8.0 or above (8.133). Among the specialists, there was one 9+ E-score on uneven bars, a 9.033, and a few more on vault.
The difference in total score from the leader, Mai Murakami (55.933) and last place, Milca Leon(33.431), was 22.502.
Men’s competition: Among the 59 men attempting to qualify to the all-around final, there were 24 execution scores of 9.0 or higher, and all but one was on vault. A 9.233 was awarded on parallel bars. The E-scores on all six events ranged from 3.766 to 9.633. Among the specialists, there were two 9+ scores on rings, a 9.10 and 9.033, a 9.033 on p-bars and several more on vault.
The difference in total score from the leader, Manrique Larduet (86.699), and last place, Ahmed Mosa(61.398), was 25.301.
Suffice to say, gymnastics is really hard under the open-ended Code of Points, which, by its design, entices gymnasts to attempt their hardest skills. If you can’t score a 9.0 on any apparatus but vault, you might as well throw your most difficult tricks since the D-score is immune to deduction. The natural evolution of the sport was suddenly put into overdrive because of the open-ended Code.
The result of that trend was on full display during the qualifications in Montreal, where there were more falls than Niagara and a multitude of injuries. This Code has simply made the sport too difficult for the majority of countries.
We can only hope that the FIG takes notice, and also takes the necessary steps to make gymnastics more beautiful than it is right now.
Numbers don’t lie.
RESPECT
For me there is no better job in life than Coaching Gymnastics. It’s fun, fast paced and always changing. Excelling at a fast-paced job can be challenging — especially when you feel like you’re not being respected enough by the gymnasts and your coworkers.
But how do you earn the respect of those you work with? And how do you deal with public displays of disrespect?
Remember that respect is a two-way street
If you want to know why you might not be getting the respect you want, stop and think: are you doing anything to disrespect others?
Some of the top offenders include interrupting others while they’re speaking, refusing to admit your mistakes and criticizing others publicly.
“Interrupting others while they’re speaking … is the ultimate sign of disrespect. So stop doing it. Immediately. Bite your tongue and spend your time listening to understand, not to reply,” business consultant Lisa Quast writes in Forbes, “While you can add your two cents after hearing the other person out, it’s better to give them the floor and actively try to understand their perspective instead of talking over them.” Gymnasts need to have input as well. Yes- they can run on and on with stories. Give them a time to speak. If it is not relevant (or you feel it is a 20 minute story!) let them know that they can talk to you and the group about it later.
Another red flag? Refusing to admit your mistakes — or worse, blaming them on others — is a surefire way to make people lose respect for you. I was doing a clinic at a gym and individually each coach spoke to me about the short comings from the previous season and each coach blamed it on the other. “We would have done better at States if it wasn’t for Beam…” If you pretend that you’ve never done anything wrong and then find ways to excuse your failures or blame them on others, you’ll lose the respect of everyone. Failure is only failure when you don’t learn anything from it, and you can’t learn anything when you pretend that you never actually failed.
Other big offenders:
- treating people poorly because their titles are lower than yours,
- only looking out for your own self-interest,
- refusing to listen to suggestions from others and creating a toxic work environment.
In Dale Carnegie’s seminal book, “How to Make Friends and Influence People,” he writes of a tyrant boss who eventually became willing to learn how to change his ways.
“For years he had driven and criticized and condemned his employees without stint or discretion. Kindness, words of appreciation and encouragement were alien to his lips,” Carnegie explains in the book, “After studying the principles discussed in this book, this employer sharply altered his philosophy of life. His organization is now inspired by a new loyalty, a new enthusiasm, a new spirit of teamwork.”
After all, no one wants to deal with a bully at work.
Be humble, but not insecure
There’s a difference between being grounded and groveling.
If you are constantly putting yourself down in an effort to appear humble, you might run the risk of losing the respect of others, who could mistake your self-effacement for insecurity. Be willing to admit your flaws, but do not focus on them. You should have some self-depreciation, but it should be paired with self-confidence. People generally will not respect another coach who appears insecure and continuously mentions their shortcomings. Show your human side but maintain a sense of bravado and self-assurance. If you’re constantly talking about what you don’t understand or what you’re not good at, people might start to believe you.
Displaying confidence can go a long way.
Let your work speak for itself, and take pride in your accomplishments. Others will see your enthusiasm and respond positively.
Avoid sending mixed messages
Empty promises are a respect-killer in the workplace. If your coworkers can’t count on you to follow through, they’re going to eventually stop listening. “What you actually do matters much more than what you say you’re going to do. Anyone can talk a big game or over-promise, but the actual follow-through is what creates lasting success,” writes web designer and bestselling author Paul Jarvis.
Don’t micromanage
Hovering — literally or metaphorically— is not effective.
Effective delegation is an important part of becoming a good leader. You must understand that your co-coaches are looking to develop their skills, so when you delegate, give them an important task to accomplish. Then stand back and let them figure out how to do it. When you tell them how to do the task, they feel mistrusted and perhaps worthless. It is difficult to trust a leader who can’t let go. That does not mean that you do not offer guidance (and they must take your input). You are in charge because you’ve been down this road before. You know where the potholes are BUT they may teach you a better way.
USA Gymnastics’ path to Real and Substantial Change
What determines whether a social movement will be a flash in the pan or a real catalyst for longterm change? Why did Occupy Wall Street subside in a matter of months, for instance, while the American Civil Rights Movement thrived, resulting in the passage of multiple laws?
Many people have called for REAL and SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE at USA GYMNASTICS. If we view the change necessary as a social movement we can identify common themes among social movements that don’t merely broadcast the need for a social change, but actually create long-term impact.
At this writing USA Gymnastics has yet to name a CEO/President. The new CEO/President will need a team behind them. People interested in making real change.
Every successful social movement features three distinct leadership roles:
the agitator,
the innovator,
the orchestrator.
Any successful pathway to real change in USAG will require all three.
Julie Battilana, a long-time scholar of institutional change explains, “If you look at the history of any successful social change movement, you’ll see there were moments of really effective agitation, innovation, and orchestration that led to the adoption of the change,” says Battilana, Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and Professor of Social Innovation at the Harvard Kennedy School, “Although history remembers some individual actors as highly influential, single leaders rarely change the course of society on their own.”
The Agitator stirs the pot by articulating and publicizing societal grievances, rallying an otherwise diverse group of people around a mutual desire for change.
“Effective agitators are able to draw attention to a problem and convince others that it requires both some corrective action and collective work to bring it about. To demonstrate that the status quo is not acceptable and to mobilize others, agitators thus need to communicate in a manner that ensures grievances are shared and collective and not seen as irrelevant.”
Take, for example, marine biologist Rachel Carson, who alerted the public to the dangers of pesticides in the 1950s; Donald Trump, who, throughout 2016, rallied citizens around the slogan “Make America Great Again;” or Teresa Snook, who launched the Women’s March on Washington after Trump’s presidential victory.
The Innovator develops a solution to address the grievances. That means anticipating roadblocks and coming up with alternative paths, as well as justifying those alternatives in appealing ways to engage individuals, groups, and organizations to support them.
“An innovator is likely someone who has studied, lived, or experienced something beyond the norms in a given environment and thus is able to create a vision of a different future that nonetheless makes sense to, and captivates, those living within the existing practices and conditions,”
Without leaders who can lay out a persuasive path of innovation, a movement will never make it past the agitation stage.
“If you do not innovate and have a solution to the problem you’ve identified, the movement will die,” she says. “I think that’s what happened with the Occupy Wall Street movement. There was an effective agitation; the movement came at the right time—a time when the world was screaming that we needed a different financial system. But there was a lack of innovation. And we ended up coming back to a system that is quite a bit like what we had before.”
The Orchestrator spreads the solution created by the innovator, continually strategizing how best to reach and work with people both within and outside the movement, as the movement for change grows in size and complexity.
“Orchestrators often need to tailor their message to the interests of the various constituencies they are trying to persuade to embrace the change,” Battilana writes. “However, in doing so, they need to strike a fine balance, as they also need to ensure that the overall message around change adoption remains coherent.”
Agitation without innovation means complaints without alternatives;
Innovation without orchestration means ideas without impact;
For USA Gymnastics each role requires a combination of communicating, organizing, and evaluating.
Agitators need to communicate the necessity of the change; innovators need to communicate the validity of their proposed solution; and orchestrators must be able to tailor information to different types of constituents—coaches, parents, gymnasts and the general audience- while still maintaining a cohesive message.
The next CEO must be able to leverage these various sources of power as they push for change. Effecting change does not guarantee glory. Behind any successful movement lies a great deal of thankless determination and sweat.
Change takes time, it takes a lot of work, and most of the time you’re not going to get a lot of recognition. Most movements are full of hidden heroes. No one may ever know about them. Some of them will have worked their entire career and not see the change. But lets make sure we do not ignore that they played key roles in agitation, orchestration, or innovation.
Habits of Great Bosses
In the past I have written about, “So- you are now the head coach, now what” and a lot about leadership. and Lessons in Leadership.It begs the question, “Are leaders born or made?” . Since that question is above my pay grade, why don’t we ask a bonafide psychologist to rest this case?
Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D., is the Henry R. Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology at Claremont McKenna College and the author of over 100 books, book chapters, and research articles in the areas of leadership, organizational psychology and social psychology.
Riggio writes in Psychology Today, “To cut to the chase, the answer is: ‘mostly made.’ The best estimates offered by research is that leadership is about one-third born and two-thirds made.”
That’s certainly good news for the majority of us dedicated to developing the right skills to lead our tribes. And those skills are mostly relational — they are people or “soft” skills.
Without those skills in place, you’re a mere manager or boss, not a leader. To lead well, you’ll need skills that combine a mix of organizational, emotional, psychological, business and management, and even spiritual thrown in for good measure.
Based on evidence in the literature and best-in-class leadership behaviors, here are 11 things that demonstrate just what it takes to lead your gym to perform at the highest level both in the competition and business arena.
1. You are organized.
Getting organized means being intentional about choice: “do it, delegate it, or dump it.” As you make it a habit to lessen your load, declutter, simplify, and reset priorities, you’ll model the behavior for your team to become a well-oiled productivity machine.
2. You are respectful.
“I love it when my boss yells at me in front of my peers,” said no employee ever. Every person wants to be honored and dignified for their efforts and contributions. Disrespect does the complete opposite: it sows resentment, fear, and anger.
3. You are decisive.
That means making a timely decision with confidence and not resting on your laurels; even if you don’t pull the trigger on a decision and no forward movement takes place, it’s still a decision. Good leaders will make the tough calls under fire, even when it’s not the best or most popular thing to do. Because in their heart-of-hearts, they know it was the right choice.
4. You are fair.
You don’t play politics; you walk the talk and follow your own rules and guidelines to the same degree for everyone without bias or favoritism toward anyone. But take note: If you’re going to be fair and ethical, expect that you may be unpopular at some time, which is a good thing. A leader that fears to be unliked, who secretly wishes to be everyone’s friend, is a weak leader that will be exposed.
5. You are curious.
Being curious and asking questions about why and how things work, for example, inspires creative thinking. It also opens up doors for your team to share their input and ideas, which fosters innovation and keeps you from growing stagnant.
6. You exercise integrity.
Leading with integrity means that you don’t question yourself. Your actions are now open for everyone to see, and you don’t have to worry about hiding anything. When you operate from integrity, you gain the trust of others. They see you as dependable and accountable for your actions. Trust develops, people feel safe in your presence, and you gain influence.
7. You have the natural desire to grow and develop others.
You provide your followers opportunities for learning and growth to help develop their potential. You create career paths for them, and encourage them to discover and utilize new strengths. Having said that, you have no self-entitlement issues about growing and developing yourself, and will seek the same level of personal and leadership development.
8. You provide guidance.
Your staff trusts you because you envision the future for them, and steer the ship in a clear and agreed on direction. As you navigate, you keep taking initiative to move out ahead, clarifying goals and expectations for you people — helping them to consistently know and understand what it takes to get to the vision.
9. You share your leadership.
As counter-intuitive as it sounds, you leverage the sharing of power and decision-making to empower others into becoming leaders themselves. By pushing authority down to your staff, they grow more competent and confident, become freer to take ownership of their work, which raises both productivity and satisfaction levels. A great leader does not create followers. A great leader creates more leaders.
10. You are humble.
I have seen gyms crumble because the BOSS needed to know it all and be THE BEST at everything. I am a perfectionist but I also realize that there are many people with great skills around me. I’ve heard a few times from people in position of power that humility is weak. Yet this core virtue drives at the inner strongholds that make a bad leader: pride, self-centeredness, judgmentalism, control, and impulsiveness. Author and thought-leader Jim Collins describes them as leaders who “channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that [such leaders] have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious–but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves.”
11. You are a great listener.
I have a sign on my desk that serves as a reminder, “Listen more, talk less”. As a leader, your first responsibility is to look out for your employees, and not yourself. This requires a fair amount of active listening. Listening to the opinions of others and those that admit mistakes, without judgment. It is the ability to understand what’s happening on the other side of the fence; to identify the will of a group and help to clarify that will. Peter Drucker once said, “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” As servant-leaders, the listening has one overarching theme: how can I help the other person?
How to be a GREAT Employee
This summer I have written quite a bit on LEADERSHIP. Qualities needed to be a good leader, head coach, manager, or CEO.
This got me thinking, what does it take to be a good employee? No one starts off at the top. Before you can lead you must follow. Before I was the head coach I was the vault, floor coach. Before I was the vault, floor coach I was the “spotter”. My job was to go in a spot so that the head coach could watch and make corrections. My job was to use my body not my brain. My job was to spot not talk or make corrections. I listened and I learned.
Now looking back – what are traits that I would like to see in my employees. Making sure the right people are on the right events and in the right position is one of my most important roles.
1. Motivated
A motivated employee is likely to possess other qualities that make them the perfect employee. They will want to advance within the company so they will want to stand out. This means that are much more likely to communicate which is a key trait. They likely will be a good listener who will take direction and wants to learn. They are more likely to think about the consequences of their actions.
2. Humble
It’s easy to find someone skilled, smart, talented and has a good resume, but a good attitude is gold. It’s not easily found, and cannot be taught. I like to see coaches who are really smart, but also humble. They still follow rules, accept mistakes and respect others.
3. Dedicated
A dedicated employee is one who takes ownership of their role and the gym as a whole. They are committed to the mission of the company, and really lives the values that have been created by the culture here. There is no blaming or ego. Dedicated coaches really look at the overall good of the company, and understand what is best for everyone. They help out the other teachers and coaches.
4. Consistent
I think consistency is underrated in the gymnastics world. You can’t be successful if you have coaching A.D.D. where you work one skill for 5 minutes then move on. There’s a premium that’s put on intangibles like creativity or ingenuity, but there’s a need for someone who shows up every day and really grinds it out. While you need people who are constantly pushing the envelope and churning out new ideas, innovation is backed by hard work — elbow grease shouldn’t be a phrase from a bygone era!
5. Accountable
Perfect employees are responsible for themselves and others. They ask for help when they need it, are dependable and reliable, will not need to be micromanaged, will inspire others to achieve excellence. They know they are the makers of their own success themselves, are introspective, and know that change for the better starts within.
6. Dependable
Talent only gets you so far. Being dependable means you complete tasks given on-time and on-budget, and can solve issues that will arise during a project. Any gym owner can tell you stories of the GREAT COACH who they had to let go because they were not dependable.
7. Self-manageable
I have found that the most powerful predictor of a coaches or teachers performance is the ability to self-manage. Self-management exists when the coach sets their own goals and has high personal standards for performance. Self-management doesn’t mean the coach doesn’t adhere to the overall goals; quite the opposite — the coach uses the gym or teams goals as a guideline and tends to go above and beyond.
8. Integrity
Opening up a gym requires integrity. Integrity is founded on honesty, accountability and delivery. I have made MANY mistakes to get to this point, so progress and commitment to the business is paramount, which requires honesty and accountability. Being accountable for a mistake and not placing blame is the delivery.
9. Committed
I look for coaches who are completely committed to their jobs, team members and customers. The best coaches are strongly motivated to advance their own careers, but at the same time really care about the people they’re working with and the customers they serve. This takes a genuine interest in the business and even the day-to-day details, which are sometimes monotonous. I say often, “I do not expect you to be as singleminded about the gym as me 24/7. But I do need you to view this as more than just a job”.
10. Passionate
YEARS ago when I first opened my mother told me- Hire the personality, you can teach them the job. I am a firm believer that you can always train for skill, but not for talent and passion. When I am looking to bring on a new coach or teacher or even a front office person, I look for someone who is going to bring energy and passion to their role above all else. Without that, the technical skills mean little.
11. Creative
I personally value those who are ‘lateral thinking’ and can develop creative solutions to bolster our current initiatives. This is because someone who is inherently innovative, and can be counted on for delivery of creative solutions is going to work great in the ever changing environment of the gym. They can also take their creativity and help us think around problems in the office and business.
12. Optimistic
An optimistic employee looks for creative solutions before introducing an issue to the team. They approach each day as if it’s an opportunity to do something extraordinary rather than nine hours spent barking out orders and drills. They help drive things forward through actions small and large. BONUS- they are fun to be around!
13. Hungry
Employees who are hungry for knowledge should have no problem taking on a task and running with it. This type of mindset is extremely important within a gym. Resources around training may not be scarce but they are difficult to schedule. Coaches must be driven enough to solve problems on their own.
14. Loyal
There are a lot of great, motivated and talented coaches out there. The ones who share your vision and are loyal to you and that vision are few and far between. People want to build their own dream and their loyalty is sometimes swayed by attractive offers at another gym. Let them in on building your dream with you, develop them as people and professionals, and loyalty will come with it.
15. Character-driven
You can train a coach to learn your business, but character stems from experiences. I sleep well at night knowing I can trust my employees to do the right thing, treat the customer well and be a righteous ambassador of Atlantic Gymnastics. A character-driven employee does not need supervision to make decisions because they will act in the best interest of our business and customers.
16. Achiever
Building a coaching team of achievers is one sure-fire way to really get things done. Being smart and skilled is one thing, but a coach who can successfully plan and execute tasks to a high standard is extremely important. Having go-getters in your gym helps to accelerate growth, fuels ideas and keeps things moving.
17. Persistent
These days, everybody is smart and talented (or at least think they are). The problem is that in our business, we have all become incredibly scared of failure. I love employees who take risks, albeit calculated, and then take responsibility for the ensuing success or failure. It is categorically impossible to succeed without failure, and the coaches and teachers who are persistent are the real superstars.
USAG Athlete’s Alumni Network Launches; Thank YOU! – Get Psyched!
Thank You Wendy Bruce for your tireless effort at getting this going. I am proud to call you a friend and my “gym sister” . #IamUSAGymnastics
Tony
Source: USAG Athlete’s Alumni Network Launches; Thank YOU! – Get Psyched!
As a former USAGymnastics National Team Member, I am thrilled to see the launch of OUR Alumni. This is something that I, along with many others, have been lobbying for. Although I have had many who have wanted me to start my own Athlete’s Alumni, I always knew that it would mean more if it came from USAGymnastics.
So why is this important for gymnasts? Why should we join? What’s the big deal?
It takes years and years of emotional and physical training to become one of the best in the United States. All gymnasts share the same training, have similar fears, endure the pressure, and understand the process to becoming the best. Once making the National Team, we go from competing for our personal local gym programs to competing for the United States of America. We go from representing our city to representing our Country, our gymnastics means more, and the stakes are higher.
National Team Members receive International Assignments. We receive National Team appeal, and we are a part of an exclusive club. The National Team is a big deal. The honor to wear the USA Flag on our uniforms comes with a sense of respect and pride for our country. We compete with passion. We train with purpose. We devote our lives to represent USAGymnastics to the best of our ability. We sacrifice our families, bodies, and time to better ourselves for our sport.
Throughout the years every gymnast along the way has made USAGymnastics what it is today. All the skills, techniques, conditioning, mental training, equipment, and leotards are because of the work of the past. These gymnasts worked, influenced, and created everything that is done today. The past created the present.
Yet that past feels forgotten.
Once we finished our gymnastic’s careers, there was nothing. Even if we were loved, appreciated, or respected for our contribution to USAGymnastics, we may not have always felt that way. Many of us felt hated, used, and thrown away.
We had spent our lives training gymnastics and it was our family. Then one day, we were done and our family was gone. It wasn’t that we were actually thrown away, but we would see the next set of gymnasts step into our place, we would see them living our lives, competing and training in our spots, and we knew there was no need for “us” anymore.
So many of us walked away. We walked away because we felt unneeded and unwanted. We didn’t know our place in USAGymnastics if we weren’t gymnasts. We felt our family had turned its back on us. Even if we wanted to come back, we stayed away because we didn’t know how or what to come back to.
One day we are competing for our country and the next we are alone at home. In the absence of communication we will tend to create our own stories. Many of us thought USAGymnastics hated us. In our minds, that would be the only reason for them to stop talking to us. Did we do something wrong? Did I not do enough? Am I not worthy to be in the family? Why don’t they want me? Was my gymnastics career worth nothing? Did I waste my childhood? Did I sacrifice my life for USAGymnastics and get nothing in return?
Many of us grew bitter. Many of felt used.
I was bitter. I felt used, I felt inferior, and I decided to do something. After talking to many USAGymnasts, Judges, Coaches, Board Members, and Office Staff they convinced me that my thoughts weren’t true. They had loved and respected me. They love and respected all their former gymnasts. Yes, ALL. They appreciated everyone’s contribution, they knew that every single gymnast of the past was the reason for the success of today. They knew it, why didn’t we?
We needed to know this. We could have created our own group, but we needed to know this from USAGymnastics. We needed an Alumni.
Over the past 30 years, I have realized that our effort in gymnastics are not measured by fame or fortune. They are measured by appreciation and respect. We do not want money for our contribution, we want recognition and to know our work was valued. We wanted to feel the love and respect from the Federation that we had devoted our childhoods to. It needed to come from USAGymnastics. Even though the “players” ( CEO, Board, Coaches, Judges, and Gymnasts) had changed, we needed to feel, hear, and see it from the source.
The USAGymnastics Alumni Network is the bridge needed to come back. It is the road back to our family. When we retire, we no longer will feel lost and forgotten. We will not have to worry about losing our community and family. We will not lose touch and make our own stories, we will walk back into the house and see for ourselves.
This Alumni Network is the first step.
- Community: We now will have a place to feel accepted. We will be able to feel a part of gymnastics long after our careers are over. From simple meet ups at competitions, to meeting more National Team Members from the past and present, to really knowing everyone and their families. We should know everyone!
- Appreciation: The implementation of the Alumni shows that USAGymnastics does care about us. The leaders do want us to know that our careers are valued and appreciated. They want us to know that we matter.
- Opportunity: Anyone who knows me, knows that I have a dream of growing this Alumni. There are many opportunities for us to use our families and connections to do great things and help one another. It must start small and we must take one step at a time, but I do think we can make this something great.
I encourage all of my former National Team Members to join. Let’s us all come back together and walk back into gymnastics feeling loved. We are the Athletes. We have a connection to each other regardless of year, outcome, or discipline. We KNOW what it takes because we were the ones who put in the work, tears, time, and ideas. We KNOW our stories and we must join to claim our history.
Once a Gymnast, always a Gymnast.
What we were able to accomplish is not forgotten. We can continue to spread our love for our sport and our family.
Welcome back.
#WEAREUSAGYMNASTICS.
Thank you to Luan Roberts Peszek, Ron Galimore, and all the people who conintued to listen to me and read my letters. Thank you to the staff who were able to put it all together. Thank you to USAGymnastics for recognizing how important this is for the athletes. I have been lobbying for an Alumni for a while and although we knew it was needed, it wasn’t hight on the list of things to implement. Thank you for brining it to the top of the list! I look forward to working with USAGymnastics and helping to heal, promote, empower, and protect in anyway I can.
CONGRATULATIONS! You are the HEAD COACH! Now What?
One of the most exciting — and frightening — career transitions comes when you face the prospect of a Head Coaches role for the first time. Whether you’re still in the interview stage or are in the wake of a successful promotion to leadership, there are a few must-know principles that will place you on a successful path. Here are five that you will need to have in place before you start.
Establish a leadership philosophy.
Leadership and management are both about getting people to follow you. I USED TO BELIEVE THAT TOO. Real leadership is about producing other leaders. A great leader is someone committed to bringing others along. That’s why my first recommendation is think very hard about your leadership philosophy. Do you feel excited and empowered because you now have the positional authority to tell other people what to do — or are you more excited by the prospect of helping others reach that same place?
Focus on the day to day of management and leadership.
The long-term goal of great coaching is to build a great team around you. To create the next generation of gymnasts who can surpass the successes of your current team. No question, the best leaders are also the best mentors. But the day job of coaching is balancing management and leadership. You have a limited amount of time, money and coaching staff available to you. Are you budgeting dollars in areas that create the best long-term value? Are you scrutinizing your time in terms of its effects and returns? One of the best exercises I’ve learned is to keep track of how much time I spend on a project or duty. Does it make sense that I am doing it? Should I have someone else do it? Should I spend less time doing it?
Be clear about your communication and your top priorities.
No doubt, your communication skills have gotten you far, but now they matter more than ever. During meetings, be as clear as possible about your priorities by asking yourself: Is this meeting intended to inform, get input, or get approval? (By stating that right up front, you’ll help others understand the context.) As often as possible during meetings with your coaching staff or even with parents take advantage of the opportunity to clarify your overarching purpose and which of your top priorities are required to fulfill that purpose. Be consistent about your purpose and your priorities. Regarding the latter, one of the best coaches I’ve ever worked with gave me some advice I’ve never forgotten: Never have more than five top priorities. If you need to ADD something to your list- remember you need to REMOVE something else.
Set common values and common standards.
Much can be solved if people agree on and practice a set of common values and standards. To my mind, the most important values, are truth, compassion, and wholeness. With a strong foundation in truth, especially self-awareness, head coaches and clubs are more likely to develop the capacity for compassion. Compassionate leadership is about holding back judgment with a mindset that is open, empathic, and generous. (It’s a myth that compassion and competition are at odds with one another.) Finally, wholeness. To me, this means redefining success as more than merely winning, expanding it to include the satisfaction coaches feel from knowing their team members performed to the best of their ability.
Remember that it’s okay to be scared and vulnerable.
So much of coaching, management, and leadership involves walking that balance beam between vulnerability and conviction. None of us can ever be completely confident that we’re 100% on the right track, yet from the time we arrive at work in the morning, we’re called upon to inspire confidence in others. “Risk taking” is a handy MBA term and euphemism for a condition of self-imposed vulnerability. In the gym everything is a risk. When we were gymnasts we had to take a risk if we were going to accomplish any new skill. Why would it be any different now that we coach? By recognizing that vulnerability is a component of our job and that it creates the potential for positive change, we come that much closer to losing our fear of it. For new head coaches, the challenge and opportunity comes from the humble (and humane) recognition that no one is invincible. It comes from giving team members the confidence that decisions are being made in a balanced, thoughtful way. Finally, it comes from showing that, in the end, the most strategic approach is the one with the strongest foundation and potential for success. Coaching is no different from anything else in life — you can only control what you can control, and if you can’t accept that leadership can be lonely and self-doubting much of the time, well, you may not be ready to be a head coach.
Hiring New Staff: Questions to ask in the Interview
My gyms have steadily grown and I’ve been fortunate to have had little turnover with my staff. I have coaches who have been with me for 20+ years and coaches who were former athletes here who after college came back to coach. That being said, you still need to reach out and hire coaches from outside to keep you fresh.
I’ve interviewed a few hundred people in the last 20+ years in business. Some were college students looking to teach a few hours a week. Some were coaches with many years experience looking for a change.
In general I am never looking for a certain position to fill. I am looking for a certain personality. I really believe that the gym is just an extension of my family and I am looking for someone that is a compliment to the talent I already have.
Hiring the best talent is a massive and never-ending challenge. It was hard to hire our first employee, it’s hard to hire our 50th employee, and it’s still going to be hard when we hire our 100th employee.
While every company has a different culture, there are few questions that I like to ask to help me identify if a candidate is a good fit.
There is no such thing as batting a thousand with hiring. You’re going to make mistakes no matter how good you are at it. That said, in my personal experience I’ve found these questions to be hugely helpful in determining culture fit.
1. How did the culture at your last job empower or disempower you?
This is a really interesting question, because it will get candidates talking about their previous gym through the lens of how they were affected by my gym’s culture. Getting candidates to talk about their past employer can be very telling. Do they openly throw the gym under the bus? Do they recognize the positives even though it ultimately didn’t work out?
Asking specifically about the culture of their last gym also tells you a lot about how they view the importance of culture. Their response will tell you if they’ve thought a lot about “company culture” or if they don’t really know what it is. The question will also reveal how they think they are empowered or disempowered, which will give you a look into their motivations.
2. What were the characteristics of the best boss or teacher you’ve ever had?
I like this question as a follow-up to the culture question, because it’s somewhat similar but from a different angle. If you didn’t get a sense for a candidate’s view on culture and what motivates him or her, you likely will from this question.
Did the candidate thrive under a boss who was extremely direct and valued performance above all else? Did he or she thrive under a boss that put as much emphasis on communication and interpersonal skills as results within the role? Did they have a teacher who made a lasting impact on their lives? Those who did will most likely want to pass on that message to the children they coach.
3. Describe how you handled a conflict with one of your co-workers or a parent in the last gym?
It’s always helpful to ask candidates about how they dealt with a conflict. As people, we tend to be more open and honest when recalling a specific event versus describing characteristics about ourselves. Understanding what the candidate perceives as a “conflict with a co-worker” will likely reveal information about the person’s level of self-awareness.
Understanding how someone dealt with a conflict will also give you insights into what he or she perceives as a reasonable and positive response to a conflict. No matter how wonderful your culture is, conflicts will arise. How your coaches and front desk people deal with conflicts is the true test of YOUR culture.
4. What kind of feedback do you expect to receive in this role and how often do you expect to receive it?
Understanding a candidate’s desire or hesitation to receive feedback tells you a lot about the person’s expectations. The frequency and type of feedback that is shared within a gym tends to be highly correlated to culture.
Does the candidate expect feedback to be tied to core values? Does the person think feedback is only about performance in the role? Does he or she see feedback as a once-a-year formality or as part of a constant process of growth and improvement?
At Atlantic Gymnastics, we value feedback and continuing education. You cannot have one without the other. I get a feeling I will be writing more about feedback in an upcoming article.
The previous questions I may not ask everyone. I do have some prospective employees who are still in school and have little experience in which to answer those question. I do ask everyone the next 2 questions. It helps me get to know them and their thought process as well as set the tone for their possible employment.
5. What will you do to make those around you better?
At time I have to explain that I mean their coworkers but I need them to realize that we are a TEAM. We must not just do our job, we must help others do their job. I expect to get a variety of answers depending on their age and experience. The other day a relatively young (college student) candidate said, “I am really a happy and energetic person. With me in the gym I think I will bring everyone UP. I will keep the energy high. You can’t really teach gymnastics in a low energy environment, can you?”
6. How do you take your coffee?
Drinking coffee is not a prerequisite for the job but everyone has a reason for how they take their coffee or why they don’t drink coffee. This has started some great conversations and helped me get to know a prospective employee.
A constant word of caution- if you are in a position to hire it is your duty to also do your research. Call previous employees, call other coaches in their area who may know them.
Moving Forward- Chaos or Community
It has been about a year that USA Gymnastics has been embroiled in crisis and controversy. The problems have roots which reach back decades. The question is, Where do we go from here?
While vacationing in the Caribbean in 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King wrote the first draft of his final book Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?
hmmmm… Chaos or Community? There are still a great many people who want to burn down USA Gymnastics. It is always easier to destroy than to create BUT USA Gymnastics is about creating. I am not ignoring the issues. I want to face them dead on. If gymnastics is our garden, we want it to grow and flourish- we do need to weed some things out. We need to continue to plant the seeds of success and tend to it on a regular basis.
To those who are screaming for the dismantling of USA Gymnastics- What do you want to replace it with? There are SO many great things going on. The Trampoline and Tumbling Program have increased their numbers nation wide and are involved in areas in the country where they never have before. The Men’s program continues to move forward and the Women’s program looks like it will continue to dominate. Junior Olympic Nationals in all disciples were successful and I was impressed by the level of difficulty. (My sincere apologies to Acro, Rhythmic and Gymnastics for All. I do not have any information on those disciplines).
Any organization will need to make adjustments. USA Gymnastics needs strong individuals to be part of a team. Those who can stand in the face of criticism and work for solutions. Not everyone is going to be pleased with the solutions. That is how business is done.
In my lecture on ETHICS given at the USAG Idaho state clinic I asked everyone who their hero was. We all need heroes. People we want to emulate. It could be anyone, fictional, real, living or dead. I said my fictional hero was Jeb Bartlet. Martin Sheen’s character in the TV show “The West Wing”. He was a person with a strong moral compass faced with many difficult questions. A strong and charismatic leader who took advice from those around him before he made decisions. One of my favorite quotes is:
We don’t need martyrs right now. We need heroes. A hero would die for his country, but he’d much rather live for it.
Moving forwards let’s focus on the Gymnastics Community. Here are some things that need to happen. Many of these are already in the works!
ADMIT THE PROBLEM
For many businesses, the hardest struggle was figuring out when it was time to retool. This became clear with all the allegations surrounding gymnastics this last year. USAG needs to now focus on building morale and our brand. Make gymnastics the leading NGB with coaches education and athlete safety.
Gymnastics is a tough business, and no club has perfectly figured out the best way to appease customers while actually netting real income. I feel as soon as I figure something out in my clubs- the needs of the customer changes. Gymnastics is a dynamic sport. Otherwise we would still be tumbling on horse hair mats and vaulting over a side horse. You are either getting better or getting worse. There is no such thing as staying the same. We need to stay flexible and continue to move forward.
COMMUNICATE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN
We are in a 24/7 news world. If USA Gymnastics isn’t putting out information on a steady basis- the market will fill the vacuum with less than flattering “news”. While I have been writing this I have seen 2 or 3 tweets from USAG. Great Job to whomever is doing this!
I envisioned the communication strategy as a way to keep everyone in the gymnastics community engaged and invested in the sport. We need to figure out a way to not just distract people but to continue to be honest and authentic, you don’t want to tell untruth or “alternative facts”. There are so many great things happening in our sport every day. Everyone needs to know these.
There will always be predators out there. This is not just a “gymnastics thing”. Look at other national sports in North America or even in the church. When someone crosses the line, there needs to be communications to the community with the facts.
STRATEGIZE BEFORE
Even more important is being prepared for these kinds of moments. We should develop scenarios so that we are prepared for crises before they happen.
No CEO/president wants to think about the hard times. So it’s hard to create a plan that hinges on things going poorly. This, however, is the new reality .
PREPARE FOR WHAT COMES AFTER
Chaos or Community? Perhaps most jarring is the fact that after a crisis hits, business doesn’t abruptly end. There is still business to be done. Indeed, if the CEO/president is settling lawsuits or even perhaps filing for bankruptcy the show must go on. Tying up loose ends like insurance and debts takes time, and this all happens after already dealing with the trauma of what has happened.This is one of the biggest lessons to learn–being ready for what comes after the fallout.
There’s no map for how to operate when in the midst of gargantuan changes, yet there are tools and strategies that can help a leader conceptualize the challenge and move forward. And the scars may feel exposed, but they do help steer and educate future endeavors.