Building Your Team
“The challenge of every team is to build a feeling of oneness.”
- Vince Lombardi
During my coaching tenure, I devised a strategy to ensure I always had a diverse and talented group of coaches and advisors around me. The key to success is not just surrounding yourself with the best but also with those who bring unique perspectives and skills. It's about having the confidence to attract individuals who are smarter than you in specific areas.
As Confucius once said, “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.” This was easy for me. I understood my limitations. I also was confident that I could bring in a person who had a deeper background in the areas in which I was lacking.
In my previous writings, I've shared stories about the incredible individuals I had the privilege to work WITH. The emphasis on 'with' is crucial. My assistants understood that our success was a collective effort. They did not work “for” me; they worked with me. They knew their opinions and ideas were valued, regardless of their role. Even if it was a volunteer, an intern, or a first-year coach, I always made time to listen, consider, and discuss their ideas. Nothing was dismissed.
Our collaborative approach fostered a strong sense of fellowship and camaraderie. This was evident in our collective achievements in football and the sports my assistants managed. While I oversaw all 19 sports, I didn't work directly with each one every day. Yet, our shared values and supportive environment led to numerous National Championships in various sports.
My assistants won dozens of National Championships in volleyball, water polo, soccer, tennis, golf, track and field, and basketball during our time together. My “team” of coaches would take the ideas and experiences we had developed and introduce them to their sports with certain refinements that took a “football drill” and crafted it to fit their sport’s needs.
I used This five-step system to construct my team of coaches.
Understand Your Shortcomings
First, you must understand your shortcomings. This was easy for me; my Master's Degree was in History, not Kinesiology or Physiology. I had not spent years understanding every bone, muscle, ligament, tendon and sliding Golgi that allowed the body to move.
I was a student, a teacher and a bridgebuilder. This means I can learn difficult concepts quickly and teach them to others in a way they can understand and apply.
As a bridgebuilder, I could take a bunch of seemingly random drills, reps, and sets and blend them together to make the best training program ever developed. The second part of being a bridgebuilder was that I could work with diametrically opposing personalities and get them to gel together to make a smooth and enjoyable office space while simultaneously putting the best group of professional coaches on the field at once.
Be Selective
The second step of my system was being selective with whom I brought on to my staff. I never let a person's experience, education, gender, race, religion or ethnicity factor into who I hire. My only qualification was they had to be the best at what I needed them to do. I hired the best plyometric coach I was ever around (Tatyana Obukhova). Taty had a degree in business and had never coached a day in her life, but she was the most amazing technician with Olympic lift movements and was my go-to person when I needed help with plyometrics (jumping).
Charr Gahagan was a power-lifting champion who helped me with programming the pressing and squatting movements.
Leslie Cordova came from the private sector and junior college sports. She was a high-energy coach who knew more about flexibility, stability, and mobility than most physical therapists.
Mondray Gee had a long history of coaching college and professional athletes in the weight room. His greatest gift, which I was lacking, was his understanding of the rules and logistics of the NFL. I had come from a college program that was different from the NFL. Mondray gave me a Master's Class on how the landscape was different, yet he was able to fit it into my grand plan for training athletes at this level.
Gary Hyman was a junior college football coach with the energy and zeal to be the best. I had to have him on my staff. I never asked what his degree was, but it was in any of the strength coaching areas. I knew I could teach him what he needed to know on the field and in the weight room; what I couldn’t teach was his “fire.”
I could go on and on, but these were just a few of the all-stars I brought onto my staff.
I brought no “passengers” to my boat, only rowers! Passengers brought baggage; we didn’t have the time to deal with baggage when we were working to be the best.
I often use Al Capone’s quote about the people he could trust: “I would rather have four quarters than one hundred pennies.” This not only fits my closest circle of personal advisors but also was used in selecting my coaching staff. I didn’t want people who didn't bring something to my team.
I used Jerry Pitzer’s rule of thumb when hiring: “Are they loyal? Are they hardworking? Can they learn?” You can’t teach these traits, so be selective.
Have an open mind
I mentioned how everyone on my team had a voice. At any time during the process, my people knew they could come to me and ask me hard questions. “Why are we doing this?” “How is this making us better?” “Where does this fit into the program?” I would have an answer, but I would also ask, “Why do you ask?”
This is when a dialogue would start. It might end with my explanation, or it might be taken to our staff meeting for all of us to discuss. My thoughts have been dramatically changed because my team always had an open door and a willing listener.
Don’t hire someone if you don’t want to know what they know or think. If you dismiss them outright because they don’t have as much grass under their shoes, then you should have never brought them on. If they are wrong in their suggestion or idea, it is simple to explain why they don’t fit your system.
The worst thing you can do is dismiss their idea and bring it up in a different wrapper the next day. Celebrate that they were brave enough and thoughtful enough to see a different way to approach a problem you hadn’t seen before.
Trust those on your team, and they will pay you back ten thousand times.
Two Way Street
When you hire the best, you expect a lot from them. Can they expect the same from you? Will you ensure they are paid at a level commensurate with their abilities? I see strength coaches being paid a million dollars a year to coach these days. That is great! Here is my question: How much are their assistants getting paid? A great leader is only as good as those on his team.
Being a professional is a two-way street. You must give as much, if not more than you are willing to give. I have personally watched a team go from a well-oiled machine to a dumpster fire because coaches left to find greener pastures. They moved laterally because they would have a voice in the organization and get paid a little more. But most of all, they left because they didn’t feel respected.
When you find this circle of advisors, make sure you are willing to help them reach the top of the mountain when their time comes. I have always been proud when my coaches became head coaches. I felt that was one of my obligations to my team.
Continually Evaluate Your Circle
Even if you have followed the first four steps, we all get fooled. I have. I hired three people in my thirty-five years in coaching that I had to fire. Their interview, resume, and the people I had called about them all sang high praises.
But they didn’t fit. When I was coaching on the field, I had a coach during team film meetings who fell asleep and snored loudly. I had one guy who was like an anchor. He would stand in one place, not move, and not say anything to anybody. I had a young lady who really didn’t like the hours. All three were gone. Quickly.
I also helped other coaches move on to other jobs. Their ambitions were to use us as a rung on their ladder. I could see it happening. They would spend all their time on the phone looking for the next job. They knew they could be great; they knew everything. All they needed was a chance.
I made sure their opportunities and dreams came true. They would leave, and in a month, I would get word that they would like to come back.
Final Word
This Five-Step System is nearly flawless. It falls apart when you hire people that you know are not built to be the best. It also doesn’t work if you must be the smartest guy in the room. So, one last time, understand where your weaknesses are. Be selective about who you bring in. Keep an open mind to new ideas, “Do unto others …” and continue to evaluate your team.
When you do these five things, you will always be successful!
Have an amazing day!
