Performance Opposition

PERFORMANCE Opposition

A continued article by Peter Schwab Former AFL Coach, Triple Premiership Player Hawthorn

Last week we mentioned our own effort and commitment to performance.

This week I have looked at the following: Opposition

In any business you must know who you are competing against.

• If you want to know your opponents then you should be considering the answers to some of the following questions.
• Who is the best in your business?
• What are they doing that you don’t?
• What can you do that they don’t?
• Where and how are they beating you?
• Where can you gain an advantage over them?

The beauty of sport is we can watch our competitors prepare and perform. Can this be done in business?

• Ask yourself ;Can you forward scout your opposition?
• In any competition you must respect your opponents and know as much as you can about them.
• There will be competitors who do things better and frustratingly some will do it with what looks like ease or even less than their best effort. There is nothing to worry about – You can only compete to the best of your ability not someone else’s best.
• Always assume your opponents are doing everything they can to be the best. It will keep you motivated and focused.
• In sport I often asked the players, “What do you think your opponent would be doing?”
• In essence don’t give a competitor an advantage by a lack of effort, thinking, focus and commitment on your behalf.

3. Coaching/Teaching/Leadership

In sport, in a workforce, in a classroom the team or group’s welfare comes before the individual. This is not to say a workplace should not have empathy and understanding for its individual members.

Good coaches, teachers and employers need to understand individual strengths and weaknesses but they know decisions must be based on what is best for the team, the class or the workforce.

Your understanding and commitment to this management principle will help you become a highly productive member of the team, group or workforce.

If someone is behaving in a manner that is hampering others in their capacity to be the best they can be then that individual needs to be challenged about his or her behaviour.

While it is the coach, teacher or bosses responsibility to challenge that person’s behaviour and get them working co-operatively. The most productive behaviour in a team, class or workforce is self-discipline or leadership from within the group. The word empowerment is used nowadays.

All teams search for strong player leadership. If the players drive team behaviours on and off the field in a positive direction the team generally does well.

Strong teams will even challenge their coaches if they believe certain things can be done to improve the team. And as long as it is done in the right forum a coach will welcome such input. Nobody has a mortgage on a good idea. So always speak to the right person at the right time if you believe you can help the group.

Mentoring is a critical part of learning. It is important to either have them within an organisation or for people to seek them outside. Sometimes a person outside is not clouded by internal politics.

4. Team mates/Colleagues

• Who do you trust?
• Who do you want in your team?
• How can I make it easier for my teammate? – Vince Lombardi the great US Football coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960′s always posed this great question to his teams.
• Don’t blame others if things don’t go well, but do question why things went bad.
• If you believe someone isn’t doing their best or isn’t helping the group then you can challenge them. But think about the best way and best time to do this.
• Allan Jeans, St.Kilda and Hawthorn premiership coach. Had an approach to criticism. “Find their positives first and then edge them toward where they can improve.”
• Don’t do what others do if you think they are wrong or it’s not for you. i.e.; smoking, playing a certain way, taking long lunches for socialising.