A Leader Humble Enough to Succeed
Dear Friend,
Years ago I worked with a Finnish coach
named Junnu whose ringette team was struggling.
They'd play well in the first period, lose the second,
and try to battle back in the third.
He was pretty discouraged and asked me,
'What can I do to motivate them?'
I watched his team, and he was right.
After dominating the first period,
they fell behind in the second, and had to
scramble just to tie it up by the end of the game. So I asked him to finish this sentence:
'One thing I do that motivates my team is--'Well, he couldn't finish this sentence.
His mind went completely blank.
He'd been coaching these athletes for 4 years,
yet didn't know one thing that motivated them.
This realization startled him. I quickly gave him a new sentence:
'One thing I do that doesn't work to motivate
my team is--'
This time, he came up with an ending:
'Yelling at them. It doesn't work if I yell at them.' (Of course, the only thing he had been doing
all season was yelling at them.)
Junnu's saving grace was his humility.
He finally acknowledged his lack of awareness
about his team, paving the way to change. After that day, he stopped yelling.
He watched his athletes carefully,
making notes on what they liked (and didn't like)
about his coaching. He was surprised to find that compliments
were the only thing that consistently motivated them.
Two years later, Junnu's team was poised
to win the National Championship.
He filed the team into the dressing room and said,
'Ladies, you have no idea how ready you are
to win this game. I mean, look who we have in this room.' One by one, he complimented each player:
'Kirsi, you're the ultimate buzzsaw on the ice, checking every player who dares to skate near you.'
Chills went up and down the players' spine
as they absorbed his praise.
You probably already guessed that Junnu's team won.
You're right.
To this day, Junnu still talks about the power of
humility.
I'll talk to you again soon.
Your friend,
Lisa B.
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