Want to get off to a good start this year? Make sure you have a finger on the pulse of your organization or team. We read an article about Rex Ryan, the coach of the New York Jets, with his assessment of the team finishing with a record of 8-8 this football season and missing the playoffs. The last two years his team missed the Super Bowl by just one game but this year they took several steps backwards and didn’t even make the playoffs and pretty much self destructed during the last game of the season.
Here’s what the coach had to say about the team at a press conference yesterday…”Normally, I’m a guy that really has the pulse of this team, and I don’t think I had the pulse of the team the way I’ve done in the past. When I met with players, I think that became clear to me.” It was reported that a few hours earlier Ryan had actually cried while addressing the team when discussing the importance of unity. The players, when asked by reporters, overwhelmingly admitted that their Super Bowl aspirations were undermined by poor team chemistry.
Three things stood out when reading this story…
- He met with his players – If you don’t share and receive openly with your team and key people you’ll miss the warning signs of a flatline and soon create a culture of secrecy that infects the entire organization. Keep in mind, about 50% of your team will share openly but if you, as the leader, can’t receive feedback (positive or negative) openly then hardly anyone on your team will share out of fear or apathy. When this occurs you’ll never receive information that can move you forward and provide warning signals to the symptoms that lead to flatlining. Don’t be like Ryan by waiting until the season is over to meet with the individual players.
- He understood the importance of team unity – You can either run a dictatorship or a team. Sure, as a leader you’ll need to make the tough call sometimes but it’s critical to understand that leadership means influence and the ability to rally people to the vision. Dictators may effectively lead at times (try googling Hitler or Jim Jones) but their stories usually have a really bad ending for themselves and the people following them. Great leaders bring unity and create a healthy organization.
- The players understood the importance of team chemistry – Team chemistry doesn’t mean everyone is treated the same, it means everyone is treated fairly. Quarterbacks have different expectations than running backs who have different expectations than linebackers. They’re all different but they are all important to the team’s success. If you don’t have a sense of the team’s chemistry you may be ready to flatline. What’s interesting is quite often your team will know about chemistry issues long before you will. Go back to point #1 to see how to stay on top of team chemistry. It’s like a regular checkup.
Bottom line is this… keep your finger on the pulse, make sure you’re doing what’s needed to get a good reading so you don’t end up like the Jets and out of the playoffs with no chance of being in the big game and not even aware that you flatlined until your season is over.
