Like many of you, I have been enjoying the warmer weather and all of the amazing basketball! (I am also prepared to have my bracket busted by the end of the first week of March Madness.)
This is the time of year when you have good visibility into the opportunities and challenges for the upcoming year, yet also need to ensure that your staff is aligned and performing at a high level.
Thus, I thought I would write this blog equating basketball themes to coaching your team to perform to their highest level.
Tip #1 – Make sure that you have a good game plan
A key part of getting everyone focused on the right priorities is to have a realistic year-long plan. In basketball, there is a carefully crafted strategy that leverages your star players' skills while mitigating the strengths of the competition. In your business, you need to do the same. The environment might be a bit harder to predict than a zone defense, but careful planning will give your team confidence in you as a leader.
When it comes to building a strong game plan (strategic planning), it helps to have a system or tools in place that support the following:
• A longer‑range plan or vision that shapes team culture
• Clear annual goals or objectives that keep everyone focused
• Maximizing organizational strengths and how they match up against the competition
• An understanding of the broader environment in which the organization is playing
Tip #2 – Reward the behaviors that are aligned with winning
Focusing solely on outcomes rather than behaviors can cause problems. If you have a great shooter, but they are selfish and don’t pass the ball when they should, you don’t win as many games as you would by playing as a team. Within an organization, you might have a high performer who also doesn't play well with others on the team. If you don’t focus on the “how” in addition to the “what,” you might end up unintentionally reinforcing bad behavior. Therefore, be sure to reward behaviors aligned with the organization's values.
For example, some organizations set up performance reviews that are 50% behaviors and 50% accomplishments. When it comes to leadership, you might choose to implement a 360‑degree feedback process to ensure positive leadership behaviors and effective collaboration among peers.
Tip #3 – Focus on team success
In basketball, the end goal is getting to the NCAA tournament and then trying to win it. Individual statistics don’t matter as much as making dreams come true and bringing home a national championship.
In business, aligning goals so that everyone is focused on team success is a little more difficult. For instance, don’t fall into the trap of focusing leaders on departmental goals rather than organizational goals. If your Sales VP has their bonus tied only to revenue, they will not be vested in the product development team or the team that onboards new customers. Rather, make sure that part of their bonus is tied to something — often profit — that requires each leader to think beyond their department. This approach encourages teamwork and collaboration so that, at the end of the season, err, year, everyone will feel proud of their contributions to the team's overall success.
Tip #4 – Provide constant feedback
Great basketball players practice their skills and seek coaching to improve. Unfortunately, in organizations, managers may shy away from providing regular feedback. (Tom Izzo doesn’t wait until the end of the season to share his feelings!)
It can be common in organizations for managers to avoid giving feedback on a regular basis. A dialogue should not only happen at the end of the year when the opportunity to course‑correct has passed by. It is easy for managers to avoid difficult conversations or let things build up, leading to increased frustration. Rather, have those conversations early when feedback can be more impactful, and the next play even better.
I hope you enjoy the games this month and that your bracket holds together longer than mine usually does. If you’re looking to strengthen your own game plan this year, check out our AMPLIFY Leadership Development Program — a structured way for leaders to improve alignment, clarify priorities, and coach their teams more effectively.
