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The Highest Level: Patience pays off for the Nuggets and How the Penguins unraveled
Actionable insights on coaching, leadership, culture, and teams May 26, 2023 Howdy Y’all, This week’s Highest Level includes:
Let's go! EB Denver's Patience Pays Off with NBA Finals BerthThere is so much gold (pun intended!) in this 90 second sound bite from Denver head coach Michael Malone on the patience, consistency, and ongoing improvement it takes to be successful in the NBA. A simple formula we can all use to pursue excellence in our lives as well.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone reflected last night on his team making the NBA Finals: On the patience that allowed the team to come together “In this business patience is not a word that comes easily. And for [ownership] to have patience after that 3rd year…came up just short of the playoffs, they saw something in Nikola, Jamal and myself, and allowed it to come to fruition. And that’s a rarity in this business.” On Nikola Jokic’s evolution as a player “No one ever could have seen that he’d be a two-time MVP, passing Wilt Chamberlin it seems like every other night. And that speaks to his dedication to his craft, getting in great shape, and understanding that for him to fulfill his potential, he had to work harder. And he’s done that.” On how success never changed Jokic and his approach to the game “And what I love most about Nikola, aside from his great play and the consistency, is he’s never changed. Success, money, fame has never changed that guy, and that’s a rarity in this business as we all know.” The hardest thing in pro sports is understanding how an athlete will react when they sign on the dotted line. Too often we beleive that someone's success is determined by their intelligence, resume, or talent. The success of this Nuggets' team is a great reminder of the intangible traits that result in success at the highest levels any profession, in basketball and beyond. 🔊Related Sound Bite: Erik Spoelstra discussing Malcolm Gladwell's "The 10,000 Hour Rule" and how it relates to the playoff success of Heat teammates we are witnessing currently on their playoff run. 🔊Related Sound Bite: Aaron Gordon on the Nugget's Team Chemistry said "It's really a brotherhood. And we really do it for the person next to us. It's rare in this league to find a team that has a bunch of unselfish guys that buy-in and really do it for the man next to them. The bottom line is that the seeds for the success we often see did not develop overnight. These seeds were planted long ago and highlight the value of patience in allowing players to develop and teams to grow into conference champions we see now. If You Meet with Ownership - DON'T DO THIS!If you enjoy pro sports front office drama, The Athletic's story on the past two seasons within the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins is a fascinating read. Recently fired GM Ron Hextall, a former player, comes across as incompetent in his former role, but more striking is how vindictive and petty he was in his role as the leader of the organization, such as cutting a player during the team's annual father-son trip while at dinner with his teammates and father. Organizations and college athletic departments are notoriously horrendous at hiring, so the fact that a former player like Hextall would ascend to such a role in a premier organization despite showing little ability to manage people is not surprising. What is unforgivable is how he presented himself to the new ownership group when they requested a meeting to discuss Hextall's plan for the team moving forward. The executives asked to see Morehouse’s and Hextall’s plans for the business and hockey departments, respectively. Morehouse detailed team finances and waning ticket revenue in a PowerPoint presentation, but Hextall was caught off-guard by the request and said the hockey plan was in his head. Ordered to put it on paper, he scrambled that afternoon, hand writing his ideas on a legal pad, transferring them to a Word document and printing out a couple of pages in the hotel’s business office. How he wasn't fired on the spot after this meeting is beyond me. Hextall eventually got what was coming to him in April when the team announced his firing. But this example serves as a good lesson for any leader or coach: Don't be like Hextall. If you meet with ownership, treat them with respect, show up prepared, and let your attention to detail highlight how you lead and manage people. Check out The Athletic's full article "Chaos, loathing, and the Big Three: How the Penguins unraveled". How To Build a Successful Coaching CareerEarlier this month I presented the closing keynote at Newcastle University's Psychological Insights into Coaching Practice conference. My talk, entitled "4th Grade Football to the NFL: How to Build a Successful Coaching Career", covered my path in football coaching, along with tips for coaches to manage themselves, manage their teams, and manage their careers. Come for the football stories, stay for my impassioned Q+A session! Check out my talk from Newcastle's PIICP conference below. Thanks for reading and see you next time at the highest level. Dominate Today, Evan Find me on Twitter or my website. Thank you for subscribing to The Highest Level. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can sign up for the newsletter here. |
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