| The most important element to a successful program is trust. Without it, you have no shot to reach your potential. One primary way I see coaches build trust is through clarity. It is critical to your program/organization that you bring great clarity to your people. People want to know where they are headed, why they are going there, how they are going to get there, and how to act on the journey.
I have been blessed to see this play out with two elite leaders who I have spent time with.
RODNEY HOBBS
The first person was my boss when I worked at Stonegate Church. Rodney Hobbs is great at bringing clarity to his staff and to the people that attend Stonegate. It starts with the personal clarity Rodney has but it is much deeper than just personal clarity.
Three things stick out to me about how Rodney brings clarity:
– One, he constantly and clearly communicated who we are, what our mission is, and how we are going to fulfill that mission.
– Two, he was great at clearly communicating what this looks like day to day. He did not just live in the ‘philosophy clouds’ but was able to bring clarity to how this played out.
– And three, it always felt like Rodney was two to twenty steps ahead of everyone. He just saw the future and where we were headed with more clarity than others.
The playout of this clarity was people really trusted Rodney. He ‘felt’ safe because he had great clarity on who we were, our purpose, what was truly important to us, and how we were going to reach our purpose.
Leaders without clarity often take people on a ride and give them whiplash. They are inconsistent and don’t exactly know where they are going or how to get there. It literally feels like whiplash to people because they never know what to expect and there are many ‘last-second turns’.
TIM CORBIN
The second leader who is phenomenal at bringing clarity to his program is Tim Corbin. I have not been around Tim on a day-to-day basis like I was Rodney, but I spent enough time with Tim to repeatedly see the clarity that he has.
Like Rodney, Tim communicates to his staff and team the vision, values, standards, and expectations in clear, easy-to-understand ways. And again like Rodney, he knows what is really important to him.
Everything in his program is defined so that there is no vagueness. People know where they are going, how they are going to get there, and how to actually go about their business as they are on this journey.
Two things happen in his program because of this clarity:
One, accountability becomes easier. When people are crystal clear on what is expected, it becomes easier to hold them accountable.
Two, there is a high amount of trust. When you listen to Vanderbilt players talk about Tim, you can sense the deep trust they have in him.
This clarity is one of the aspects of Vanderbilt baseball that makes it special. Everyone in the SEC has good players, facilities, and fan bases.
I really believe the separator for Tim is the trust that permeates his program. And one big reason for the level of trust is the clarity he brings to his staff and athletes.
ELITE LEADERS
There are three things that I see elite leaders do in this area of clarity.
– One, they have both personal and program/organizational clarity. They know who they are, what is important to them, and in turn, know what their organization or program is about.
– Secondly, they are able to clearly lay out the vision, values, expectations, strategies, etc in a manner that everyone in the program understands.
– And thirdly, they do this over and over in many different ways. They are constantly communicating and bringing clarity.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
Are your people clear on what your program/organization is about?
Do they know where you’re headed?
Do they know how you’re going to get there?
Make it a point this week to double down on bringing clarity to your people!!!! |
