I love behind-the-scenes TV shows about American Football. With so many players, coaches and support staff I find it fascinating to see how coaching works amid the chaos of practice.
For me, two things stand out.
The 1st is about being seen.
All the players in a squad have a number. With so much going on in practice it’s easy for crucial subtle contributions to be missed. To drive team performance by ensuring everyone feels valued, NFL teams (coaches and players) look out for these subtle contributions and acknowledge them in the moment by using the phrase, “I see you … (insert relevant squad number here)”.
The second is about the expectation of excellence.
The phrase they use here is, “make some plays”. This simple phrase seems to convey the message; do everything well but in a few (crucial) areas, we believe in your ability and expect you to recognise and embrace the moments where you can be exceptional.
I love these because they are a very simple and powerful ways to positively impact individual motivation and performance.
The question would be how this could work in other types of organisation (“I see you Doreen” 😊).
I’ll leave that with you but I also think this is super relevant as individuals. Are you focused enough in your day-to-day life of recognising the subtle contributions of others and do you strive each day to “make some plays”?
Tony
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