Let’s paint a little picture – one that is all too common in sports. There is a high school soccer team that has been built over the last few years with a core group of seniors. The team achieves outstanding success riding senior talent and leadership. There are underclassmen contributors who are a part of the success. At the start of the next year it is very evident that the departure of the senior class has left a void in both leadership and skill. The underclassmen have some talent, but everyone understands that the team will not have the same success it had in the previous season.
At this point it is difficult for a coach to talk about wins and championships when the team (and even the coach) know that is probably not going to happen. And the last thing a coach wants to do is to start setting goals around records when two losses to start the season can derail the entire program.
So how does a coach build a program without focusing on results?
It is important to make it clear – results matter. However, using results as a measuring stick is not always the most effective way to measure success with a team.
GROWTH MINDSET
Those coaches who have successfully built programs instill a growth mindset into their players. While successfully ingraining a growth mindset does not just happen in a handful of two hours practices, the framework for implementing a growth mindset with regards to the sport can happen quickly. Hopefully the athletes can carry it over to different facets of their life.
Carol Dweck is a psychologist at Stanford University who conducted groundbreaking research on mindsets. She focused on the differences between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. What Dweck found was that individuals who believed that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, learning and persistence are more likely to be successful even in challenging times This is considered a growth mindset. Those individuals who believe that talents are already innate and unchangeable have a fixed mindset. Those people are more likely to give up in challenging situations.
By applying a growth mindset to athletes, it becomes evident that a coach would want to instill an attitude of hard work and persistence in order to achieve success. Athletes with a growth mindset tend to work harder in practice and overcome challenges – specifically in situations where wins may be hard to come by.
So how does a coach introduce and instill a growth mindset?
USE PRAISE STRATEGICALLY
Stop praising only success. A coach that only recognizes the final result – a base hit, a scored goal, a touchdown – is praising the final outcome. Athletes will not be successful all the time and if they are only praised for such achievements, they tend to get discouraged quickly. Typically, a final success requires a lot of external factors. A soccer forward relies on others to pass her the ball. A football running back needs an offensive line to block in order to score. These are uncontrollable factors.
Praising effort and hard work is controllable. An athlete is in complete control of how hard they work and the effort they put in. By having a coach recognize this effort, they are in more control of their own success and become motivated by what they are doing. A coach must reward a player for more realistic goals that are readily achievable.
MODEL THE MINDSET
A coach has an opportunity to practice what he or she preaches. Share personal experiences or examples of when you failed but improved through effort. Don’t just talk the talk.
It can be an example from the sport or something in life. Talk about how you could barely run a mile but next month you are running a 5K. Talk about how you used to hate writing but now you are working on authoring a book. Find something that makes it real.
REFRAME FAILURE
Treat losses or mistakes as learning opportunities. Don’t just hammer a player for failing. Failing is a part of life. I always find it funny when a pitcher is struggling in baseball and a coach goes out to the mound and tells the kid to “just relax and throw strikes.” Don’t you think he is trying to do that?
Practices and games are more about failure than success. Embrace failure as an opportunity to learn and get better.
If a player is in constant fear of failure, not only will they play slower, they will also be more likely to fail. Reframe failure and do not make it the be all and end all. Athletes should not fear failure. The fear of not succeeding is one of the main roadblocks to athletic success.
SET EFFORT-BASED GOALS
Building off of reframing thoughts, a coach has to set effort-based goals for individual players and its team. The theory behind this is to remove the uncontrollables from the equation. For example, if a soccer coach is running a shooting practice on a goalie, do not make the objective to score three goals. The goalie may be very good and the goalie’s success now becomes the shooter’s failure.
Instead of saying “the objective of this drill is to score three goals” say “the objective is to take 10 quality shots on goal.” Now, success in practice is not based on the goalie’s ability but it focuses the drill on the shooter’s effort and follow-through.
Setting effort based goals provides more consistency in a practice. Removing variables provides a more focused objective that the athlete has more control over. Even if the shots don’t go in against the goalie currently in net, they may go in against the goalie you will face in an upcoming game. A coach wants to encourage refining the shot, not the actual outcome.
INCLUDE ATHLETES IN REFLECTION
Part of a solid practice plan involves plenty of opportunities for reflection. Too often a coach provides all of the reflection. “I think we did this well.” Or, “We have to do this better.” Empowering athletes to reflect is such a crucial step in creating a growth mindset for your program.
Ask athletes for feedback during and after drills or sessions. Have a quick post-practice wrap up where athletes are comfortable enough to voice their positives and negatives.
One of the key ways I have found to encourage athletes’ reflection is to have quick but focused one-on-one conversations with athletes. This can be accomplished as an athlete is on line for a drill or as there is a quick break in a practice. Quietly ask a player how the drill was or what changes they would make. By having these quick one-on-one conversations, you are encouraging feedback and growth in a safe setting. Some athletes do not feel comfortable speaking in front of a larger group. By having an intimate conversation, the athlete also feels that you care about them as a person in the fact that you are not just addressing the larger group.
One-on-one conversations are crucial to building a positive team culture.
BALANCING EFFORT AND OUTCOMES
The legendary basketball coach John Wooden said, “Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.”
Wins and losses are important. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not realistic. You play the game to win. However, wins are not the only form of judging success.
In theory, creating a growth mindset culture leads to success on the field. This does happen. It is not the only way to judge success. There are many great football players and football coaches who have never won a SuperBowl. There are many outstanding baseball players who never won a World Series. There are many unreal soccer players who never hoisted a World Cup trophy.
By focusing on effort and the process, a coach has an easier time of creating a positive climate and culture to foster growth and success. Eventually, the wins will come.