{"id":126,"date":"2021-08-18T02:48:12","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T06:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iterudio.com\/?p=126"},"modified":"2021-08-18T02:48:12","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T06:48:12","slug":"situational-leadership-reciprocity-football-hamlet-random-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/?p=126","title":{"rendered":"situational leadership, reciprocity, football?, Hamlet?, random thoughts …"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Random thoughts …<\/strong>
I find myself wondering this morning if saying “I’m a proud Gen Xer” is an oxymoron. Kind of like saying someone is enthusiastic about apathy. hmmm – I’m usually TRYING to be funny when I say “proud Gen Xer” – a line from “Chinatown” comes to mind <\/p>\n\n\n

\u201c’Course I’m respectable. I’m old. Politicians<\/em>, ugly<\/em> buildings, and whores<\/em> all get respectable if they last long enough.\u201d <\/p>Noah Cross – Chinatown”

Maybe add – “generations” to that list as well – umm, if you haven’t seen “Chinatown” it isn’t one for the little ones to watch, great example of the “noir” genre though. <\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

ANYWAY<\/strong>
I have been find of collecting “quotes” as long as I can remember. I recently stumbled across a “pre 1920’s joke” that went:<\/p>\n\n\n

“I just read Hamlet. I don’t know what all the fuss is about – it is just a collection of famous quotes”<\/p>(pre 1920’s joke)<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n

Which I thought was funny because it reminded me of how I first ended up reading Hamlet<\/em> – i.e. I had a “famous quotation” book that had numerous quotes from Shakespeare’s play – so in the “pre web” days I actually went to the bookstore and paid $2 for a copy of the play.<\/p>\n\n\n

(really random thought: if you watch “old” tv shows occasionally someone will hold up a skull and say “Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well”<\/em><\/strong> – when they want to appear to be ‘acting’ or show a knowledge of Shakespeare. <\/p>\n\n\n

I won’t bother explaining the quote – but it shows the “intended funny” in the “Hamlet” joke – i.e. the subtext to Hamlet<\/em> can be “complicated” (extreme understatement), but there aren’t many sections of the play that don’t have a famous quote –

since I’ve wandered into the subject – the BBC did a very good “traditional” version of Hamlet<\/em> back in 1980 with Derek Jacobi as Hamlet. Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 version is a beautiful movie – but 4 hours long. Mr Branagh received an Oscar nomination for “adapted screenplay” – he kept all of Mr Shakespeare’s words, but updated the location to the 19th century, and there is a nude scene as I recall (which obviously wasn’t in the “text” as it were).<\/p>\n\n\n

Oh, and if you don’t mind black and white movies – Hamlet (1948) with Laurence Olivier is a decent version that covers the story very well (in 2 hours 30 minutes) and showcases Mr Olivier’s acting prowess (he won an Oscar in 1948 for his performance)<\/p>\n\n\n

The Team …<\/strong>
Legendary football coach Bo Schembechler gave a famous speech about The Team<\/a>

(*cough*) great speech, of course Illinois won the Big 10 that year, Michigan’s only conference loss was to Illinois (16-6) – I’m sure they were both<\/strong> very good teams – which is why they play the games (and why “sports” is the original “reality tv”).<\/p>\n\n\n

The point I’ve been building up to is that “teams” will always consist of individuals with different abilities, motivations, and\/or desires. To a certain degree the individual agrees to sacrifice some of that “individual desire” in service to “the team.”<\/p>\n\n\n

The beauty of “team sports” is that the ‘scrappy team of less talented individuals’ can beat the ‘big team of skilled competitors’ IF that ‘big team’ doesn’t play as a “team.” (but of course the “smart money” will be on the team with the talent – cliche: “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”<\/p>\n\n\n

Reciprocity<\/a><\/strong>
Sports at all levels illustrate how “team building” tends to be self- fulfilling to a certain degree. We see this when we talk about a school\/team as having a “good program” – e.g. “such and such school always has a good X team.”A very important part of that “program” is coaches and administrators. But you also obviously need athletes. SO which is more important “coaches” or “athletes” – well, you need both.<\/p>\n\n\n

“Teams” don’t instantly form – I know there are the inspirational stories of “teams coming out of nowhere” and winning a championship going from “worst to first.” BUT those are extremely rare (which is probably why they are “inspirational stories” – i.e. they had most of the coaches and players equation and find the “missing part” needed to succeed).<\/p>\n\n\n

Much more common is the story of building a program bit by bit – continual slow improvements, and then suddenly (after 10 years of work) they become an “overnight” success.<\/p>\n\n\n

SO where does reciprocity come into play? well, the team members have to all believe that the team IS a team – and not just a collection of cliques<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

e.g. the person with the whip, might think he and the galley slaves<\/a> are a “team” – but the galley slaves probably don’t (“motivational speech” from ‘guy with whip’: “We keep you alive to serve this vessel, row well and live!”)<\/p>\n\n\n

Back to Bo Schembechler – he was well known for his integrity. e.g. “You may not have liked him, but you knew where you stood with him” is a famous quote from a former Michigan player. <\/p>\n\n\n

I always like the idea that “you don’t have to like<\/em><\/strong> the coach\/leader, but you should RESPECT<\/em><\/strong> the coach\/leader” – and if the coach\/leader is routinely lying and\/or forming groups of ‘preferred’ players that get “special treatment” (e.g. “the rule is X for everyone except<\/em> that small group over there that has done nothing special except ingratiate themselves to the coach by kissing his posterior”) then that becomes a recipe for “team destruction.”<\/p>\n\n\n

Once again …<\/strong>
So once more time – all human relationships are based on ‘trust.’ All of the above about ‘sport ball teams’ applies to interpersonal relationships in general. Marriage, ‘work groups’, ‘project teams’ – whatever … all founded on “trust” that the individual is going to be valued for their contributions and not treated like a disposable “cog” in the machine …<\/p>\n\n\n

Arguably, in a “healthy society” the first team someone belongs to is the family unit – with “marriage” being the formative act in starting a “family” — but that gets complex fast – so another “football coach” story …<\/p>\n\n\n

Good ol’ Woody Hayes (he coached at one of those schools in Columbus, Ohio) wrote a book titled “You Win With People.” (used copies available on Amazon). <\/p>\n\n\n

While all the general public saw was Mr Hayes tearing up his hat and acting wild on the sidelines – by (most accounts) Woody Hayes was respected by his players – i.e. they trusted that he was “fighting for them”, and they had the same mission.<\/p>\n\n\n

Fwiw: Bo Schembechler retired from coaching when he got tired of begging 19 year olds to come play at Michigan (my words, but he said as much in his 1989 autobiography – still in print). He stayed at Michigan as the Athletic Director for a number of years. <\/p>\n\n\n

Saying that Woody Hayes had a “colorful” career is an understatement – but both men are worth a little bit of study from a “leadership” point of view. The end of Mr Hayes career almost falls into the “urban legend” sort of thing. He was fired for APPARENTLY punching an opposing team player on the sideline – the video is out there on the interweb. There are still plenty of “Woody Hayes defenders” but maybe the “big picture” lesson is that nobody is perfect. <\/p>\n\n\n

For the most part Mr Hayes is remembered for the 28 years BEFORE the incident – which is probably as much as you can ask\/expect …<\/p>\n\n\n

Situational Leadership<\/strong>
Pop quiz: What is the most effective way to lead a group? Answer: it depends on the group.<\/p>\n\n\n

This is one of those “incredibly obvious after it is pointed out” concepts – i.e. you can’t lead every group the same, because not every group is the same.<\/p>\n\n\n

Just like you can’t treat everyone in the group exactly the same, simply because they aren’t all the same.<\/p>\n\n\n

Individual members of the group should expect to be treated with respect, as well as held accountable for their duties within the group. Beyond that nothing is carved in stone.<\/p>\n\n\n

To continue my football theme – you can’t “coach” a group of 3rd graders that have never played organized football the same as you might coach a group of high school athletes that have been playing football since the 3rd grade.<\/p>\n\n\n

Not only should the high school athletes know more “football” than the 3rd graders, they (should) also be more mature. If you treat those 3rd graders like high school athletes you probably end up with chaos and a lot of unhappy athletes\/parents – OR if you treat those high school athletes like they are supposed to be “professional athletes” you aren’t likely to have sustained success<\/a> …<\/p>\n\n\n

If you happen to have the luxury of picking all the members of your team – then you should pick folks that mesh with your preferred leadership style. (which is why successful NFL coaches sometimes end up as both “coach” and “general manager”).<\/p>\n\n\n

But if you have to ‘work with the athletes that show up’ – then you need to adjust to the athletes. That doesn’t mean the coach “coddles<\/a>” the athletes – but trust has to be established AND THEN MAINTAINED. <\/p>\n\n\n

Both Bo Schembechler and Woody Hayes were good at “yelling at players” when they needed to be yelled at and “patting them on the back” when they needed encouragement.<\/p>\n\n\n

(… and that is “situational leadership” based on the individual athlete – btw I don’t think insults and\/or profanity are ever productive leadership tools, what the athlete will remember is that the coach insulted them or cussed and not much else …)<\/p>\n\n\n

Mr Hayes was also famous for being a great recruiter – his tactic was to “recruit the family.” Stories were told of Mr Hayes on recruiting trips essentially “recruiting the mother.” The story usually goes that before the visit the mother would say “MY son isn’t going to play for that mad man” – then Woody would come in and charm the mother and afterwards the athlete was committed to Ohio State.

(I also love the story that Woody Hayes said that the difference between him and the faculty at Ohio State was that HE could THEIR job, but THEY couldn’t do HIS job. The legend is that Woody was “well read” and also a “full professor of physical education” or something – )<\/p>\n\n\n

ANYWAY – It can take years to build up a program, but then that program can appear to disintegrate almost overnight. Though (most of the time) the decline from “top program” to “used to be a good program” is a gradual process … <\/p>\n\n\n

Did I have a point?<\/strong>
No, not really – football season is starting, random thoughts \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n

I will point out that an “average coach” can have “above average success” if they master the “integrity” and “motivation” parts of coaching. i.e. it is easier for a coach to improve their “football knowledge’ than it is for them to change their character.<\/p>\n\n\n

Maybe the “least effective coach” is the one that coaches exactly the way they were coached (if\/when they played) – without understanding “why” they were coached that way. <\/p>\n\n\n

e.g. if the ONLY reason a team does “whatever” is because “that is what my coach used to have us do.” Maybe this explains the scenario where the “star athlete”\/high performer isn’t a very good “coach” when they get the opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n

More effective is the coach that consciously chooses a style based on their preferences\/coaching strengths. Then the challenge might be finding a “place to coach” that “fits” the coach.<\/p>\n\n\n

Then the “superior coach” would be the one that “can beat you with his athletes, or take your athletes and beat his with yours.” Sun Tzu comes to mind – “Know your opponent and know yourself and you need not fear the results of 100 battles”<\/p>\n\n\n

(… of course if faced with a “superior force” Sun Tzu would advise “not engaging that force” – so the coaching applications become a little limited – i.e. you gotta beat the “best teams” to win a championship at any level …)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Random thoughts …I find myself wondering this morning if saying “I’m a proud Gen Xer” is an oxymoron. Kind of like saying someone is enthusiastic about apathy. hmmm – I’m usually TRYING to be funny when I say “proud Gen Xer” – a line from “Chinatown” comes to mind \u201c’Course I’m respectable. I’m old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,7,11,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","category-history","category-leadership","category-philosophy","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iterudio.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}