1-800-240-4601 david@davidsarkus.com

Football season has just begun and lots of high school and college coaches are pretty frustrated right now.  Many are trying to figure out why their kids (athletes) aren’t getting it.  And many haven’t realized that as a coach, you can’t just show up in August and try to coach a kid real hard.  Coaches have to build trust and relationships, which in-turn affords opportunities to drive kids harder – to get more out of them.  When a coach spends time getting to know a young athlete, long before and after a season begins, the ground becomes increasingly fertile to push a kid harder and to maximize his or her potential.
The same can be said for many organizations – even within the “Amazons” of the world.  If people have a desire to work, and there is a high regard for them as a person, coupled with a high regard for productivity – you have a winning formula.  This is particularly true when expectations are set early and often, and workers know that you have their best interests in mind.  In our context, a high concern for people and their safety combined with a high concern for productivity is a great match!  But it takes a special leader, coach, and teacher who can help workers on those two levels.
As my old college teammate and current high school football coach, Pat Conochan says, “if you want to coach a kid real hard, you have to show up long before August – well before the season begins.”  And “if kids aren’t getting it, you either better find a better way to teach them or get out of coaching.  Because guess what?  It’s not the kid’s fault.”
And so it is to a large extent with many leaders and certainly with employee safety.  You better “show up well before August” if you want to get the most out of your people.  And if your people aren’t “getting it” and are still getting hurt – you better find better ways to support them and to teach, or you may need to find a new way to earn a living, because guess what?  It’s not their fault.
Finally, I have to give credit to Bruce Arians, head coach of the Arizona Cardinals who says, “coach ’em hard and hug ’em later.”
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