productivity – Coaching Made Easier

D. E. K.?

December 22, 2021Kris Herman

Does everyone know?

Do all of the central people involved in your program know what they need to know in order to move the team, program and individual in the right direction, with minimal friction?

The Coach whose answer is, “I think so,” probably should find out.

The knowledge they need to have starts with the standards and expectations and a clarity around: here, we do it this way. This clarity allows people to show up and work together with efficiency. The norming of everything – the clarity of a program model that everyone knows – allows for both productivity and creativity.

The head coach first needs to be clear for themselves- tougher task than it would seem – and work to create easy to understand principles for all aspects of the program.

When everyone knows the games come easier and the connections grow deeper, things make sense and the outcomes are better and deeper than the inputs.

Ready? Go. I’ll meet you there!

Distraction

August 18, 2019August 29, 2019Kris Herman

This scenario happens to me many times a day: I’m talking to someone on the phone and then a buzz comes in my ear, or theirs, and the primary conversation takes a hiccup.

“Um, yeah,” as one of us takes a quick glance at the phone to see what the notification needs from us.

It only takes a second. The conversation doesn’t stop…and yet we need to do a micro reboot. It does take away.

And, It happens a lot.

There’s lots of talk about the truth about one’s ability to multi-task. Can you actually do more than one thing at a time? Sure. Can you do them both well? Maybe. Or, probably not.

It’s not the thing that distracts you that matters, it’s the fact you’ve become distracted, no matter how short the time period or small the event. Check the science.

And, don’t even get me started with smartwatches.

Planning matters, plans are useless

November 22, 2018November 19, 2018Kris Herman

Checking boxes, feeling productive when you get thru a pile of emails that have no real impact on your work, taking a deep breath and being relieved when the “workday” is over…FEELS GREAT!

We often celebrate “getting %*&@#$ done” without assessing whether or not we are actually moving forward.

What if we spent more time considering the bedrock concepts that drive us and our business/team/operation? If we dug into the why, the reasons behind, the what-if-it-worked, we might have more impact.

Spend time working on the plans, working the process (sound familiar?) to create a great plan and the execution itself will be easier.

Principle #5: Learn, Intentionally

October 22, 2018October 20, 2018Kris HermanLeave a Comment

“Learning from the past” should not be a random thing. We should have a planning process, make and execute plans and look at them after they are executed. Ask, “What worked?”, and do more of that and less of what didn’t work.

When someone says they learned their lesson, it’s often simply because a thing didn’t work out, and not often enough because we took the time to review our plans and our actions.

Take time more often to learn–the good and the bad–intentionally.

Spare Time?

February 1, 2018January 30, 2018Kris HermanLeave a Comment

We ask a lot of Time.

We beg for more of it, wish it would go faster, hope it might slow down, perhaps even if time would simply be a little kinder…time is a pretty important part of our lives.

Time takes blame for it’s shortcomings, “why don’t have I more time?” we ask, as if time cut a few corners last hour and shorted us. “Where did all the time go?” we demand when our days slip away, and somehow it’s Time’s fault for not being around when we need it.

Take a moment (if you can spare it) to think about Time and how we view it.

Should Time get the credit for being productive? Maybe you get the gold star for that one and you should use a small bit of time to plan the next chunk in which you can move forward with your tasks.

Time belongs to all of us, and it’s available to everyone but not used equally. We own our piece of time.

We don’t have that much time to spare and we can’t give it away to others, but we can choose to waste some, we can share it, and each of us gets to choose how much we how we use it. It’s up to you.

Tick tock.

Cleared for takeoff

December 26, 2017December 20, 2017Kris HermanLeave a Comment

Put on your own oxygen mask before helping others. Then, breathe.

Flight attendants remind us of this every time we get on a plane.

In the case of emergency, or even just to be at your best every day, we should take care of ourselves first.

“Self-care” is a buzzword concept lately, and one that I’ve tended to push aside as too touchy-feeling and not as important as things like planning or assessing results. However, the basics of making others–teams and individuals–better involves having a handle on our own health and well-being.

It’s true. To be a great resource for others we should be at our best. What can you do to make your own situation better, healthier or more clear?

Maybe it’s eating, sleeping, hydrating or something else physical; maybe it’s making time to talk to others or read or just think. Experiment with doing or not doing things differently and see how you can become a better resource to those around you by having yourself taken care of first.

There’s No Scoring On Defense

November 17, 2017November 6, 2017Kris HermanLeave a Comment

in some sports “the defense” scores points, although their main role is to stop the other guy from scoring points. In some, like softball and baseball, there is no way to post on the scoreboard when your team is in the field.

You can only win when you attack. On offense. Find a way to have a strategy on offense that you love, that everyone is bought in to, that speaks “we’re in control”.

Defense is a tone setter, but not scorer. Even if you’re great on D, you can only be totally in control if you have a strategy that allows you to control on attack.

Get to work.

Who’s The Wizard Behind Common Wisdom?

November 7, 2017November 5, 2017Kris HermanLeave a Comment

Is “Common Wisdom” simply a self-fulfilling prophecy? Can we simply make something–especially something bad–happen just by expecting it?

Or, perhaps, there IS a wizard behind the curtain who makes sure that things come to fruition when we say that they will!

Many of us fall prey to the “that’s just the way it is” mentality when we allow ourselves to underperform. The idea that we simply don’t have the time, money or other resources to do what we’d like to do…that’s too easy in my book.

Coach, you choose what to pay attention to. You can make different choices.

Things are generally not predetermined.

Find a way to be your own Wizard.

Decide to Decide

November 4, 2017November 5, 2017Kris HermanLeave a Comment

Making decisions is much easier if you commit to being a decision-maker. Telling yourself: “I am a decision-making machine,” will allow you to spend less time on the idea of committing.

Sure, you’ll want to get the facts and weigh the options while you prepare a big decision, but most just need you to say, “yeah, i’m good at picking between the specials on the menu,” or “watch me pick out a shade of white for the ceiling”.

If you can do that–making a reasonable, quick decision often runs no more risk of being wrong than does a protracted process–that you’ll be able to save time and brain power for determining the next steps after that decision.

In coaching there are tons of decisions to be made, and all can be second-guessed later. Usually, the opposite choice could be debated just as much as the one made, if the outcome is not what was hoped.

Taking the time to get the information you need is important, and being committed to being good at the act of decision-making will make it an even better process.

One In A Row

July 31, 2015Kris HermanLeave a Comment

Consistency is tough to achieve. Doing things the right way over and over, getting up and getting to work, assessing and revising, challenging yourself and your team regularly…are not easy to achieve.

Systems of performance make these things easier. Knowing what you’re going to do (and having your subordinates always knowing what’s next) to move yourself and your program forward today is a great step toward both productivity and effectiveness. Plan your work…

On the other hand, when you fail at consistency there’s always a chance to restart–either execute more effectively or devise a new system–and one in a row is an ok place to be.

GO.