7 Coaching Lessons from the World of Sport: #7

#7 You are only as good as your weakest link

Last but not least, this old sporting adage. We all need to be strong in the team to get the win. Any chink in our armour, and the opposition will capitalise.

This quote from David Jeter, American baseballer, made me think however, about how we are potentially defining weak links that may exist in our team.

Is the weakness through a lack of talent or through a lack of work ethic? Does that lack of work ethic arise because they aren’t as engaged as they could be? Are they in the wrong role? Or perhaps in the right role, but with too much emphasis on things that they are weaker at? Where as their leader can you help to adjust their role so they are really able to play to their strengths, and contribute more fully to the success of the team?

Also as leaders, perhaps sometimes we are the weaker links in certain areas. Do you support and encourage those members of your team who complement your areas of weakness with their strengths? How do you acknowledge their work when they support you?

If your attempts with the so called ‘weak link’ haven’t worked, is building a team culture of performance enough for the weak link to self-identify and move on? Where necessary can you discuss with the team member what path may be better for them?

Although identifying your weakest link may seem quite simple, it may be the case that the reasons behind this weakness aren’t as simple as we first thought.

Thank you for reading my 7 coaching lessons from the world of sport – would you agree with them? Please let me know if you think there are any other particularly pertinent lessons from sport that I haven’t mentioned.

And just a final comment: a famous snooker commentator Ted Lowe once said “That was inches away from being millimetre perfect”. In life and as leaders we’re often going to be inches away from getting it right rather than millimetres, but by reflecting on lessons such as these seven and consistently seeking to improve, we can only strive to get better!