THE MONDAY LEADOFF

Hi my friend 🫡

Over the past week I've noted these points on leadership:

• Anything you have to repeat, turn it into a system
• Respect is a balance of love and fear
• Say the thing you need to say but do it with finesse
• Respect is earned through sacrifice
• Instead of stating my opinion, ask an open-ended question
• At times, leadership is disappointing people at the rate they can absorb
• Make sure the high-performers know that they are a top priority of yours
• Have a systematic "Open Door Policy" for feedback, capped at 5 minutes: I'm always available to listen and discuss. Allocate 2.5 minutes for discussing areas of change/improvement and another 2.5 minutes to highlight what's working well

GRAPHIC OF THE WEEK

(Credit: Noah Kagan)

WHAT'S BEEN WORKING

1.

Creating a culture of informal feedback

• Ask for feedback on different occasions and through different forums
• Normalizing the practice of giving feedback
• At times, instead of asking for feedback, ask for one piece of advice
• Let the feedback sit but always take time to follow up

Note: John Wooden writes that criticism/feedback should only be between coaches and athletes and never from athletes to their teammates.

2.

Expanding my role

Last week, I wrote, "Wherever you are, consider expanding your current role. What are you trying to master? Is there a way for you to integrate that into your current work role?"

I've done this recently and it's been incredible. As head baseball coach, I'm trying to master coaching and leadership. I figured out a way to integrate these while expanding my role by creating a weekly Coaches' Roundtable discussion at the school where I work. I've been hosting 20-30-minute meetings on coaching and leadership. The meetings have been productive and I have brilliant colleagues and have learned a ton from them the past few weeks.

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QUOTE I'M PONDERING

"I believe there is no more powerful leadership tool than your own personal example.” -John Wooden

Nothing but the best,

Matt 🎯

P.S. Here's a way to attack daylight savings head-on