Positive Energy
Positive Energy is hardly a new concept. Norman Vincent Peale published The Power of Positive Thinking over
a half century ago and there are countless other examples throughout history.
The concept is rather simplistically based on the principle that positive
people, positive interactions amongst people and positive work or play
environments produce positive or winning results. If your team is burdened by a
losing culture, low morale or negative leadership the cure is Positive Energy.Of course, the answer is a bit more detailed for the problems road blocking Positive Energy are often more complicated. If this were not true, everyone, every team, every business would have Positive Energy and it is quite obvious many do not. The fact is negativity can creep into a team and begin costing it wins before leadership recognizes the problem and takes action to generate Positive Energy to root out negativity.
Allow me to let you in on a secret, Positive Energy does not just happen. Successful coaches, successful captains and successful teams work diligently to create, nurture and maintain a positive culture for their team.
It begins at the top. Successful teams need positive leadership from the head coach and coaching staff. This is not an option for successful teams but it can be a choice for the coach and the staff. I was asked to speak to a team at the start of fall practice. The coaches wanted me to address Positive Energy based in part on my philosophy of accentuating the positives, “Next Play!” and empowering athletes by giving them freedom to problem solve on the pitch. I thought it was a good idea and agreed to do it. I arrived early and was pleasantly surprised to see a good representation of the team gathering. The coach introduced me… and then left. I looked around and none of the 4 assistant coaches were present either. I asked if any of the captains were present and 1 of 3 were.
The coach had indicated the team was plagued by poor attitudes, personal agendas and a lack of team spirit. A blind man could see why. I explained to the team I had no interest in wasting their time. Positive Energy begins with leadership and theirs had abandoned them. After informing the one captain present that I would gladly return when the coaching staff and other captains decided to buy into the process of Positive Energy. I then excused myself and left.
In this instance leadership had identified a problem and then attached blame to everyone except themselves. Their solution was to bring in a miracle worker to address the issues evidently believing Positive Energy could be built from the ground up. They failed to realize the negativity they portrayed… and even exuded… by not taking responsibility for what ailed their team. They wanted the players held accountable when it was leadership that needed to be held accountable.
In a team sport individuals bring a certain level of passion and commitment with them otherwise they wouldn’t be there to begin with. So there is some Positive Energy present to work with. However, if leadership does not actively and intentionally nurture the Positive Energy found in the players it will erode. Sun Tzu, wrote in The Art of War that “Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”. What he means is that Positive Energy does not come from winning. Winning comes from Positive Energy.
To grow Positive Energy on your team you will need to constantly nurture it and weed out negativity. Leadership must believe in the power of Positive Energy, actively invest in the process of nurturing Positive Energy and practice of Positive Energy principles until it is ingrained in and becomes the culture of the team.
In a team environment the head coach needs to surround himself with positive assistants and when possible, positive players. I have seen good players cut from teams because of negative attitude. It is never a pleasant thing to do, but it can be necessary for the good of the team. “Energy Vampires” (another catch phrase) can and will suck Positive Energy from your team leaving it on life support. One person rarely makes a team, but one person can break a team.
Communicate clearly, concisely and in a positive manner to all team members – assistants, players, trainers, administrators and parents. Faulty or poor communication is the single greatest nutrient for negativity. When there is inadequate or a total lack of clear, concise communication negativity will fill the void. I have seen it happen this week in a team from a neighboring school and the results are disastrous.
If you want a group to work together, to display teamwork, effective communication is not an option. It is a mandatory requirement. Defining roles and responsibility and communicating them is crucial to embeding Positive Energy in your teams culture. And it’s not about leadership lecturing the team. The team’s input is invaluable to generating Positive Energy. Remember, everyone brought a certain measure of Positive Energy with them. The key is to nurture it and help it grow to its full potential.
Positive reinforcement.
It is so very important to praise positives be it in effort, production or results. We all like to be noticed for the good we do. I try to use the “Oreo” or “sandwich” approach when correcting poor play. Begin with a positive. Address the issue. Finish with a positive. Two positives for one negative.
Better yet are positives from multiple sources. A teammate says “good job!” followed up by an assistant coach saying ‘nicely done!” and perhaps the head coach chiming in with “that’s what I’m talking about!”
Trust is a critical by-product of effective communication. Of course, that means mistrust is a by-product of a lack of communication or poor communication.
Be very careful not to allow negativity to creep into and become prevalent in your communications. A poor play followed by “my bad” or an assistant coach pointing out the mistake or the head coach immediately removing the player from the game establishes a chain of negativity. My teams follow up a poor play / decision with the encouragement of “Next Play!” signifying to move on from the mistake and towards the next play thereby immediately breaking the chain of negativity in favor of Positive Energy.
This culture of Positive Energy is all about shared vision, defined purpose and dedicatedly striving towards a common goal. It is about rooting out feelings of entitlement in favor of enabling and empowering individuals and the collective team through positive reinforcement. See what I just did there? The “Oreo” or sandwich approach. ;)
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