A Coach’s Lesson: Give More Encouragement
I’m a huge sports fan, especially the NBA. I love watching leadership and team performance live in real time and with instant results.
Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors, the reigning NBA champions, has really caught my attention.
Steve is not the old school, yelling and berating kind of coach. He’s more centered. He’s focused. His priority is the team. You can see by what he says and what he does that he views his job with a focus on both individual and team performance.
What sticks out most to me is how Steve Kerr uses encouragement.
How does he do it? He praises players. He holds them up when they’re down and has their back regardless of their past or current performance. There is no “what have you done for me lately” stuff. No “whose fault is this” crap. Instead, whether someone is playing well or not, he notices and acknowledges what they’re doing right.
When sharp shooter, Klay Thompson, was in a particularly tough shooting slump, what did he say? He told Klay that he played great without shooting well. How many of us would love a boss like that?
Then when forward Draymond Green had a rocky start at the beginning of the season, Kerr said he thought Green was first “scattered emotionally” but now “he found his edge.” And that Green’s defensive performance “… was brilliant.”
Encouragement works. Where Steve Kerr goes, success follows. He not only won his second NBA championship as a coach in 2017, he also currently holds the highest winning percentage in NBA in history.
Encouragement is a big part of Kerr’s leadership style.
What grace. What power. What positivity.
Encouragement is the perfect gift.
It’s free.
It’s uses renewable energy.
It is always appreciated.
Go ahead, give encouragement away freely. It could change someone’s life in unimaginable ways.
