January 10, 2023 | Tagged Coaching
How Coaches (and Parents) Can Eliminate Selfishness on Teams
“Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute.” – Bill Russell
Selfishness is total unconcern for the lives of others and is absorption with the self. Unselfishness is defined as generousness - the trait of being willing to give your money or time or effort.
The hard truth is that players emulate their leadership. Take a look at the ways you lead your team. Selfishness is a reaction to a mental blueprint. What blueprint is creating this entitlement or over self-focus?
Can you clearly define selfishness? Find ways to know exactly what is going wrong.
- Do you have bullying, gossip, meanness, on your team? These are below the line ways of navigating conflict and pain. If this is happening, you need to help your team find healthy ways to navigate conflict and pain with each other and in their own lives.
- Do you have a spirit of entitlement and lack of effort? Yes, lack of effort is a form of selfishness and entitlement. Lack of effort is the answer to the classic question, “What’s in it for me?” Do you know how to overcome entitlement? The key is creating a culture of service. A coach leads by example. Coaches who won’t do certain jobs because it is “beneath them” will have teams that have entitled players and lack of effort. You may have talent but you won’t have a real team. Real teams serve each other and can’t wait to sacrifice and give for everyone else. When someone (especially someone worthy of imitating) starts diving on the floor for the rest of the team, everything starts to change.
- Is it selfishness or is in insecurity? Sometimes selfishness is really self-preservation. Maybe your student is getting pressure from home. Perhaps a student is so afraid to fail, he doesn’t pass when he should. (Remember the number one turnover is a bad pass). Passing takes skill, power and confidence. If your students are risk adverse, then you won’t have consistent or timely passing.
- Are your students seeing a block to their dreams? First of all, do you know your players’ basketball goals and dreams? How are you helping each student help move towards those dreams? Not all dreams are good dreams. Do you have the wisdom to help students find dreams that are not only attainable but also meaningful and speak to the deep need in every one of us to do good work and to achieve great dreams? Listen to the dreams of those you lead.
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