I have been fortunate enough to have played basketball at an elite level for 15 years. I have been fortunate enough to work for organizations at the most elite level and work with some of the worlds best athlete’s and there is one thing that I can undoubtedly tell you — the right fit is the most importantthing in any situation.
BAR NONE.
In sports we’ll see an athlete perform exceptionally well over the course of a season and sign with a new team the following year for a big pay day. That’s the dream for every athlete, right? In the famous words of Deion Sanders, “look good, feel good. Feel good, play good. You play good, they pay good.”
But how many times do we see an athlete perform and the following year not perform? Some athlete’s become complacent but what about the ones who don’t? Is it the pressure they succumb to? Maybe the role expands and their skillset doesn’t match the demands.
You see quite often in the international game a guy who had a prolonged career in the NBA, find himself overseas and be asked to be the star player but it’s not natural to them after being a role player for so long, excelling in their role.
More times than not, it stems from the environment the individual is in. I’ve seen first hand, teammates with immense talent struggle to produce or even find minutes and the following season be an MVP candidate. I’ve also seen players dominate and fall off the face of the earth as they bounce around from team to team.
It is my belief that organizations fail miserably in identifying the environment they can provide for the athlete they are signing. What environment works best for this athlete? How many individuals are on the roster already and thrive in a similar environment? Has the organization built a personality map to identify who will mesh and who will have clashes? How does the organization bring the best qualities out of each individual to ensure the group performs to the best of their abilities?
Having lived in Australia for the past five years and having been able to watch the NBL closely, the trend is culture has trumped talent for the last few years. Teams that spend the most have ended up near the bottom of the standings while the teams with smaller budgets have outperformed bigger clubs.
The NBA finals told a similar story this year — the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets built a culture and found individuals that were the right fit. The result — the last two teams standing.
When advising an organization there are three major things I look at:
DISC personality profiling — although there are flaws to the personality profiling and it is not an end all be all, we like to use DISC as a foundation of each individual. It easily helps map out who will have difficulty communicating to who, where breakdowns will be held and where gaps in relationships can be closed.
TEAM evaluation — a system designed to measure the cultural impact of each individual and the effects the have on each individual teammate. We value the following five qualities: trust, support, sacrifice, respect, communication; all of which have their own measurable’s.
ICED evaluation — the individuals ability to perform. This is a system designed to view each individuals stress levels, belief patterns and perspective in their unique situation.
As a coach, regardless of level, are you rigidly trying to force your athletes into your belief system or are you molding the athletes and environment simultaneously?
For those that are working in front offices or recruiting players, how are you evaluating players? Simply off ability, toughness and price tag? How is the guy you are bringing in going to affect your star player? How is your star player going to affect those around them?
You know those mid season slumps teams go through? That’s burn out — a direct reflection of the environment the group walks into every day. The grind of a season is already long and hard enough, don’t add fuel to that fire and leave you questioning where you went wrong as you hobble across the finish line.
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