Poring over brackets and stats this month? Even for casual basketball enthusiasts, March is one of the most exciting times of the year. No matter which teams you’re rooting for—or how they perform in this year’s tournament—you can set yourself up to experience victory at work with guidance from some of the most revered coaches in the history of the game. Learn how to guard against fears and insecurities and help your team excel, even in high-pressure situations when the clock is ticking and all eyes are on the outcome.
Achieving a big win as a group can be one of the most rewarding moments of any career, whether you’re calling the shots at the office or you’re a hands-on team player. Here’s how two of college basketball’s most celebrated coaches helped their teams aim higher—individually and as a group.
“Make Reads” With Coach K
Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski is no stranger to the intensity of the games that have many of us keeping score every March. Over more than four decades, he built one of college basketball’s most successful programs, with five national championship wins and 13 appearances in the semifinals. In his class on MasterClass, Coach K underscores the importance of establishing your team’s values to instill unity, collective responsibility, and pride in your efforts as a group.
Values, and your value system, encompass far more than a one-time statement, according to Coach K. They have to be defined, personalized, and put into action on a day-to-day basis. To reinforce them continually, Coach K even organizes regular “values meetings.”
“If you really want to get a deep team and a deep group…you introduce values,” he says. “To me, a value is a quality. It’s an ideal. It’s a way you act. It’s something that becomes part of your character.”
Once you’ve built a foundation of values and formed a culture to support them, you’re poised for success. But you also have to be able to adapt to challenges in the moment. One of Coach K’s inspirations is “motion offense,” a concept from Bobby Knight, a fellow Hall of Fame coach. The idea is that players are constantly evaluating each situation in real time as they are moving down the court—giving each player freedom to break from a play if needed by “making reads.”
That’s a lesson that applies off the court as well, according to Coach K, especially to leaders and teams working to make progress and stay agile. Here are three of his top tips for “making reads” as a leader:
- Listen
Look around, listen, and ask for input when you need it. You can’t adapt without knowledge and information. Know your environment, know your organization’s goals, know your resources, and, most important, know your people. Make a read of the situation by gathering information and taking note of your team’s mood on a regular basis. “Don’t be the same with every situation,” Coach K says. “React to what the situation needs and what your people need.… It starts with having empathy and being able to adapt in a moment.”
2. Analyze
Make “longer reads” by analyzing how your team is performing over a set period of time. Take stock of recent victories and losses and use that information to form a longer-term plan for action. Both long reads and “quick reads”—information-gathering and pivoting in the moment—are critical to successful adaptation.
3. Inspire
You can use “reads” on an organizational or individual level. When you’re coaching or mentoring someone directly, observe their strengths and help them build on those. Make sure you also pay attention to body language and nonverbal cues to get a better understanding of what motivates and excites them. Giving individual praise and attention can inspire each of your team members to aspire to new heights.
Practice Leadership Techniques With Coach Geno
College basketball legend Geno Auriemma has coached some of basketball’s most iconic players and led his team to 11 national championships. The coaching and leadership principles he shares in his class on MasterClass apply to any group working toward a common goal, all while supporting the individual growth and needs of each team member. That’s how the best teams achieve victory, he says: “In the end, what will you do so that the people who are on your team, or your family, say, ‘I couldn’t have done it without you’? That’s the ultimate win.”
Here are four ways Coach Geno approaches his lifelong passion for helping others by being an effective leader:
- Don’t focus on being liked. Your aim is to build a strong team, not to build a new circle of friends. Instead, work hard to earn your team’s respect with your example and your actions every day.
- Be honest, even when it’s hard. Don’t pretend to have answers when you don’t. You can also build trust by demonstrating that you trust the team you’ve built, so delegate when you can and don’t micromanage. Be straightforward in all of your interactions and allow everyone on your team to live up to your expectations.
- Galvanize your team by stating a common goal. If there’s a problem, discuss it with your team members and offer solutions and strategies so that everyone knows the direction you need to move toward, together.
- Recognize the challenges your team members are facing. For example, Coach Geno knows that players who are new to college basketball can find themselves in a complicated position: Perhaps for the first time in years, they aren’t dominating the court. Even the most accomplished high school players often worry whether they are good enough to compete at the college level and meet expectations—especially as the stakes are raised. To help your team members overcome their own doubts and fears, encourage them to acknowledge how they’re feeling and use that as motivation. Fear of failure can be a motivator. But, according to Coach Geno, it’s not as powerful as the desire for success.
MasterClass at Work
MasterClass at Work is the learning platform that helps you unlock your employees’ full potential and inspires a learning lifestyle in everyone. From negotiation to mindfulness to entrepreneurship—these are just a few skills your teams can develop.
