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(4 Min Read)

FIND YOUR FILM SESSION

Have you noticed that awesome leaders who were athletes immediately get filed under the category of “a great leader because they were an athlete”

And crappy/toxic leaders often get a pass if they were really good athletes. After all, the methods clearly worked for them before, so it must be everyone else’s problem.

The label is backward-looking.

Why It Matters
We hear it all the time. Student-Athletes make great employees and ultimately great leaders.

There is a ton of anecdotal evidence that suggests this to be the case.

These claims are fairly easy to make and will typically not be challenged.

Learning the hard skills necessary to perform in the specific industry or role that you transition into post your life as an athlete is what can be clearly measured to determine a level of success, (Coding, Analyzing, Investing, Researching, Decision Making, etc).

The soft skills that most people attribute to an athletic experience (Communication, Teamwork, Resilience, Adaptability, Relationship Building) is what will typically show up in feedback for what makes up great employees and leaders.

After all, athletes:

• Have been under pressure and tested

• Have lost

• Have dealt with feedback

• Have an appreciation for teamwork

• Have demonstrated accountability

• Make Great Leaders

Right?

But what these fail to recognize is the power of the engagement felt for the sport those who have been labeled athletes/student-athletes have been in.

Do we lose sight?

Because it is backward-looking. It presents a danger to cultures and leadership through complacency.

It’s easy to forget that you still have to work at it.

Whatever experience you had that had you engaged, motivated, and resilient, seek to identify what made it that way for you.

We can be very quick to lose sight of the beautiful attributes of made drove the important soft skills such as those that athletes possess, the second we cross the threshold of an office door.

We rely on assumptions without doing the work to cultivate it.

• “He/She was an athlete so they should be able to deal with feedback.
  That’s why we hire them”

• “You’re an athlete, you’ve lost before, deal with it”

• “You all are former athletes, let’s be team players”

• “You were an athlete, we need you to be a leader here”

Yes. The attributes athletes possess can lay a foundation for high achieving in a professional organization, but it still takes the same amount of work. The employee soldier as well as the leader cannot lose site of what is great.

I know many incredible athletes who will be the first to admit they are uncomfortable leading.

I would reframe all of this to say:
Student-Athletes, and former Student-Athletes when in an opportunity to experience engagement in an endeavor that mimics their level of engagement to their sport, they are more likely to be great employees, and ultimately great leaders.

IF… IF… (and when) they can practice the same traits that made them successful in their sport, they are more likely to be great employees and great leaders.

But it takes work and honest examination of all stakeholders.

Here’s a little tidbit to brighten your day. This guy’s good.

@mrgo303

Classic film session w Coach 30 - The Greatest Game Ever Played

The FILM SESSION

Watch a football game on TV and when a glaring mistake is made, you’ll hear the announcers say “oh man he’s going to hear about THAT ONE on film on Monday!!!”

Why do they exist, what is experienced, what do people fear about them, and what positives come from them?

Why They Exist
They Exist to Learn and Improve

• Learn about how you perform

• Find tendencies

• Provide visual real-life examples

• See your technique

• Find out what the competition did that gave you challenges.

• Likewise what worked vs the competition.

• Education and tutelage from a coach.

What is Experienced
Inside that room, what really happened

• Togetherness

• Team bonding

• Collective conclusions

• A hierarchy

• Feedback +/-

• Peer recognition

• Recognition

The Feared

• Accountability. There is nowhere to hide.
  *Yes. Accountability is good. But “being held accountable” in front of your peers can be incredibly challenging. Particularly in a more toxic culture.

• Embarrassment. Everyone sees what you did wrong.

• Verbal negative feedback.

The Positive

• Opportunities to see what works

• Opportunities to see what doesn’t work.

• A Chance to get ahead of what your competition is doing.

• Positive reinforcement

• The occasional (or perhaps frequent, depending on your culture)
  awesome laugh with your teammates.

Why “Film Sessions” Matter To Us Now?

It’s an example of things we do in a setting that we value, and typically will fail to tap into what made those sessions great as we enter into the professional arena.

A film session is now a meeting for most of us.

What can you channel from back in those sessions?

What did you learn and what was the most dreaded aspect of them for you?

Add what made them great to your meetings, and remove what was dreaded.

• Highlight what is working

• Understand what your client and your competition are doing

• Focus on how you are holding people accountable - is it only for embarrassment?

• Have an awesome laugh. (Create an environment where that can be).

• Come Together.

Don’t lose sight of what made you and your experience great.

Where To From Here?

1. Self-Assess.
   Are you resting on a label?
   
   If you were a great athlete, are you cultivating an environment that you’d want a player or team to experience
   
   Are you in the position you’re in because of ‘on-field” performance, and resting purely on instinct while leading.

   
   Is your current experience matching the engagement that made you great? This is for anyone.
   

2. Do the work.
   It takes work to cultivate all of this.
   
   Little things matter.
   
   You’re not what you are just because.
   
   Don’t rest on it - constantly examine what
   

3. Have a “Film-Session”
   A lot of good can come from examining your own performance.
   
   Visualize how you do what you do.
   
   Is it what you want it to be and if not, how can you get better.

You don’t win by waiting until Monday to yell and scream at a player hoping they learn from their mistakes.

You win Together.

Together UP!

A Podcast I Liked

Some Podcasts I include relate to the topic, and some I just like.
I’ve enjoyed Andy Raskin’s Podcast The Bigger Narrative because it’s (1) easy to consume (20 mins), (2) It’s about communicating the shift from Old World mentality to New World - his niche is growth-stage tech companies, and (3) his mom is awesome.

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We Win Together