“If we agree to try and give our players a well-rounded education, not merely on-ice skills, but mental and moral conditioning as well, we cannot help but be better off in the long run.” - Father David Bauer CSB – HHOF

Being a student, hockey player, teacher, mentor, coach and administrator at St. Michael’s College School over the past 40 years, I could not turn a corner within the school without being reminded of our rich hockey tradition. One of our graduates was Father David Bauer, who not only was a very good player in his own right, but became an outstanding coach, having coached the St. Michael’s Majors to the Memorial Cup Championship, as well as being the first coach of Team Canada when we created the national program. 

His quote for me is a great start to this month’s Coach to Leader Series.

As a recap, here are the 5 LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP that were introduced last month:

• Coach to Leader Series: An Introduction
• Level 1 – Position (Rights) – people follow because they have to
• Level 2 – Permission – (Relationships) – people follow because they want to
• Level 3 – Production – (Results) – people follow because of what you have done for the organization/club
• Level 4 – People Development – (Reproduction) – people follow because of what you have done for them
• Level 5 – Pinnacle – (Respect) – people follow because of who you are and what you represent

This month we will look at LEVEL 3 – PRODUCTION – “Leaders take their people to another level of effectiveness.”

It is here that all the tough aspects of leadership take place. It is a mirror on your leadership credibility. It is where you communicate standards, expectations, you set your goals, hold others accountable, and have the necessary challenging conversations. 

This is the culture creation aspect of your leadership.

This level is about the production of your team, PERIOD. 

To accomplish this the culture has to have been established. 

Phil Jackson, the former Head Coach of both the championship winning Chicago Bulls, with Michael Jordan, and the Los Angeles Lakers, with Kobe Bryant, said in his book, Sacred Hoops:

“I knew the only way to win consistently was to give everybody – from the stars to the number 12 player on the bench – a vital role on the team, and inspire them to be acutely aware of what was happening, even when the spotlight was on somebody else” 

1. Law of Respect – “People naturally follow Leaders who are stronger than them”

• Leadership is a process, as it takes time – if you do it well for long enough, you grow into it and once you get to this point, leadership becomes a lot of fun.
• This is all about your strength of character as a leader as people will migrate to those who they have admiration for, because the leader has admiration and respect for them.

Here is a great article to refer to on this topic as it demonstrates what having respect for a leader can do – How a phone call with Darryl Sutter set Jets’ Dave Lowry on his coaching path (sportsnet.ca)

2. Law of the Picture – “People do what people see”

• I have been on this from the very beginning, as I think leadership is a visual sport.
• Quite succinctly, if you are doing the right things your odds are very high that your people will do the right things as your words and actions match up – which is INTEGRITY – if these do not match up then we are sending mixed messages to our players and it creates a dysfunctional culture.

3. Law of Momentum – “Momentum is a Leader’s best friend”

• Having your team focus on specific priorities is a great way to gain small wins and generate some momentum. 

4. Law of Priorities – “Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment”

• Establishing what is important to you as a leader is key as it allows your players to understand what your teams’ priorities are.
• Leaders who can do the right things, the right way, at the right time, for the right reasons will have longer lasting success. 

Being a LEVEL 3 Leader is really key to taking your game to another level as a coach. 

I like this quote from Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall, as he was asked about the leadership of his Head Coach, Mike Sullivan:

“There’s a lot of star players on this team and they’ve been here a long time. He’s done a terrific job. He’s not the almighty ruler, he works with people and finds a way to get the most out of them.” 

What this tells me is there is a lot of respect going both ways from coach to player and vice-versa. It isn’t a leadership by title, with command and control direction, it is clearly relationship driven built on trust and respect.

This is very similar to this podcast, featuring Jukka Jalonen, the Head Coach of the Finnish Men’s National team, posted by The Coaches Site. He talks specifically about creating an atmosphere of trust as being the backbone of a successful team. 

To your growth as a coach and a leader.

BE OUTSTANDING!!!