Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Bringing It All Together


Something happened last night that hasn't happened since I was three years-old. Kentucky lost to Vanderbilt in Lexington! It was a horrible game to watch. There is no cohesion as a team. The players admitted as much after the game. To make a difference as a leader (of a business, family, or church) the following systems have to be unified and aligned:

1. Your Purpose--Kentucky players don't seem to have a common purpose--winning. For many it seems their purpose is to just make it to the NBA or see their name on the top of the boxscore.

2. Your Strategy--The team has no idea what strategy is being employed on the offensive end of the ball. They seem to be making it up each trip down the court. That's why they barely scored over 20 points in the first half. The last three games they've scored fewer points in three games than any Kentucky team since before the 3-point shot was added.

3. Your Culture--The team has no chemistry with one another. There is not a culture of winning among these athletes. There is no sense of family, according to the players.

4. Your Structure--Coach Tubby Smith should be the one in charge, but it seems that he can't get the guys to listen to him. He keeps complaining about the same things after each loss. Until a structure is in place that determines who's calling the shots and who's implementing the shots, the team will never win.

5. Your Rewards--The team doesn't seem to have an understanding of the rewards of playing like a team. They seem to be focused only on the rewards for individuals.

Until Kentucky can unify these five systems, they will never succeed. (It wouldn't hurt if they could shoot better from outside, either.) The same is true for your family, church, or business--until these systems flow together in unity, you'll fight against yourself for the win.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good article!

Tom

Anonymous said...

It sounds like to me that the core issue here is lack of leadership! Does Tubby need to go?

Glenn Reynolds said...

I don't know--1 national championship, five conference championships--but no final four since in the last seven years. UK has been to 13 Final Fours. This is going to compete with the longest drought ever in getting to the Final Four if something doesn't change.

It all starts with leadership.

Anonymous said...

This whole issue is very interesting to me. Tubby obviously has been a success in the past but what's happened? Sometimes as a leader, your team members change and you may have to deliver your message in a new way. Wouldn't this be a great job for a consultant? Go in and observe practices etc. Pastor Glenn, I know you'd be up for that!

Karen Spring

Glenn Reynolds said...

Now, somebody has a good idea! They need a motivational consultant!

Anonymous said...

It's simple... passion has been lost. You can't tell me that a person who is passionate would have those around them be so indifferent. Tubby needs to be passionate so his team can catch that fire.

Passion is the fuel you pour our your dreams and desires.

Glenn Reynolds said...

I love that quote--passion is the fuel that you pour on your dreams and desires. That's great!

Glenn Reynolds said...

They lost again. 10-6. Let's see what happens. Can they get it aligned?