A Winning Coach Strategy
A winning season definitely feels good.
As a Razorback fan, I’ve been really enjoying all the early football season victories over old rivals, especially as I reflect upon where the program has been over the past several years. In fact, when I think about it, I’m struck by how much good leadership means to a program or an organization. At Milestone Leadership, our mission is to Build Leaders Worth Following. I think Head Coach Sam Pittman’s leadership has set the tone for the amazing turnaround of the football program, even when every game hasn’t resulted in a ‘W’. The staff and the players believe that he is a leader worth following, and what a difference it has made in the culture, the energy – and yes, the success!
As I think of Coach Pittman’s leadership in business terms, these are some of his traits I believe have made a tremendous impact:
- His authenticity, humility and passion shine through and are unwavering.
- He invests in relationships and empowers his players and staff. Pittman believes positive reinforcement is a greater motivator than fear.
- He sets lofty goals, inspires his team to perform at their highest level, and then celebrates with them when they achieve results.
Recently, Coach Pittman said in an interview, “I don’t think you can reach your full potential out of fear, I think you can out of ‘want to.’ If someone brags on you and somebody else hears it, they want the same thing and it gets contagious.”
This philosophy is aligned with Ken Blanchard’s book Catch People Doing Something Right, in which he talks about empowerment.
Blanchard says to help people reach their full potential, catch them doing something right. Be specific in your praise, provide it in a timely manner and encourage them to keep up the good work. This practice provides more meaningful satisfaction and motivates enhanced performance.
For leaders, this is a good reminder to spend time catching people doing something right. Positive reinforcement can be a great motivator and helps build a culture of empowerment and improved results.
Thanks, Coach Pittman, for the reminder. Now go turn up that jukebox!
Milestone Leadership can help you, your peers or team members grow their own leadership strategy.
We’re filling limited seats now for one of our most popular programs:
Leadership Circle for Suppliers
Our unique cohort-based program is designed to support the development of high performing, high potential supplier talent, helping them excel in their current roles as well as attain career advancement over a six-month span of time. The opportunity fosters development of an external peer network, and participants receive multiple 1:1 executive coaching sessions from seasoned veterans with 20+ years in the supplier community. Spring 2022 registration is open for our next journey of building leaders worth following through individual assessments, five half-day general sessions covering important leadership topics, and our off-site Milestone Leadership Intensive program. For more information, feel free to reach out directly to Milestone’s Executive in Residence Lori Brown at (479) 366-1495 or LoBrown@milestoneleadership.
Written by Lori Brown, Milestone Leadership Executive in Residence
