Spreading Ideas That Work

"Leadership is the art of giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work." —Seth Godin

I’m struck by this quote from Seth Godin. How does it connect to the way you coach?

One of the mistakes we make about coaching is thinking it is about telling people what to do and getting them to do it. It’s about getting them to understand what to do, and teaching them the best way to go about it. We aren’t supposed to give them the answers to the test. We are supposed to show them how to get to the right answers during the test - on game day. We shouldn’t be coaching our players to jump through hoops, we should be teaching them how to solve problems.

Giving people a platform for spreading ideas that work. You likely wouldn’t use that description as a coaching approach, but it makes a lot of sense to me. There are a lot of ideas that work on a basketball court. And they change day to day and game by game. Because our opponents have a say in what happens as well. You aren’t staring at a math equation and trying to get the right answer. Your opponent is a complex equation that is constantly changing.

Give your players the platform to find - and spread - the ideas that work. It’s a great big picture approach to coaching. Don’t give them the answers, because the questions on game day are certain to change. Give them the ability to process the questions and find the right answers with their teammates.