Here at Coeus Creative Group, our mission is to empower people by improving behaviors. While much of our work targets organizations and adults, we also work with athletes on a variety of issues. Today we want to focus on an essential concept to the success of top-performing athletes; developing a growth mindset. While we are offering advice to athletes, their parents, and coaches, this concept is also beneficial to business leaders and professionals alike.

Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck’s theory of growth mindset has impacted how many coaches and parents approach speaking to their athletes. A “fixed mindset” is such that skills and abilities are set, finite, and unchangeable. Whereas a person with a growth mindset has an outlook that practice and learning can lead to improvement.

Most importantly, a growth mindset is beneficial to all areas of life for young athletes, including school, sports, relationships, and careers. At its core, the concept notes that actions can change outcomes; intelligence, behavior, and abilities are not fixed or unalterable.

Fixed mindset: “I’m not good at face-offs.”
Growth mindset: “I’m not good at face-offs yet.”

A growth mindset is developed over time. Parents and coaches need to be aware of this to help young athletes discover it, and reinforce it over time. Teaching self-reflection is an integral part of that process.

CREATE A STARTING POINT

There is no way to see change without knowing where the starting line is. Some coaches do this through skills assessments at the beginning of the season. If your coach is not, suggest they start. But then evaluate your athlete (with their input) yourself. You have been watching them grow and educating yourself on the game. You can assemble a baseline for measurement.

It is essential to look at these assessments as opportunities for improvement, not talent evaluation. Parents and coaches need to avoid glorifying players for “natural” talent. These declarations promote a fixed mindset that an athlete is either talented or not. This can impact the growth of not only the athlete who is told they are talented, but also show their teammates that talent alone is what matters.

CREATE A ROADMAP

Individual improvement is the best way to increase a team’s chance of winning, so it’s necessary to identify the skills and abilities they want to develop. In doing this, athletes can also achieve success regardless of wins and losses.

Many of these goals will be focused on sport-specific skills and physical fitness; but athletes should also be encouraged to set goals around communication, teamwork, support for teammates, and conflict resolution.

ANALYSIS

Don’t skip letting the season end without a purposeful reflection on the skills and abilities gained. It is vital to close the loop so athletes clearly see they’ve established goals, worked to create change, and achieved an outcome. Even if some goals did not get met, they still were able to learn and grow.

A great way to facilitate this reflection is to try starting a conversation using open-ended questions:

• What are you proud of this season?
• What should have been done another way?
• At difficult moments, how did you use the tools available to you?
• What skill do you want to work on before next season?

Journaling is another way for athletes to establish a thoughtful routine because they regularly learn to review activities and key moments. It also creates a record that athletes can utilize to reflect on their long-term progress.

TODAY’S LESSONS PAYING OFF TOMORROW

Youth sports are great for teaching new skills, and reflection helps them connect the work they do and the progress they continue to make. This self-reflection is what will carry them into their future careers.

While most people define success as avoiding failure, truly successful people will tell you their success is determined by their response to it. They would argue that you must experience failure to learn the lessons that bring success.

An important reminder is no matter what your athlete thinks about their current abilities, they are good enough to do their best right now. No matter how hard they try, your athlete can’t be better than they are in that moment. Embracing and honing current abilities creates a firm platform. I know this looks like a circular argument, but what should be understood is that our culture, obsessed with better, is also an anxious culture.

Some studies show 25% of Americans have an identifiable mental disorder, and 80% of those, or 20% of us, have an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is related to the uncertainty and fear of a future event or occurrence. When our minds focus solely on the end results, we quit concentrating on the “now” and do not perform at our best.

What we know about human beings at their best is they are not constantly jumping into the future. They don’t dwell in the past. They stay present, focused, and function to the best of their ability right now. The problem with better is it keeps pulling you to the future. If you pay close attention to the people that succeed at a high level, they are not hyper-focused on winning. They simply believe they are going to do well.

Parents, coaches, and (behaviorally intelligent) business leaders should be saying, “Give it your all, do the best that you can, and learn from the experience to be better tomorrow.” If you’re leading an organization, whether it’s a family, a team, or a business, if you can get people to perform at their best right now, then you’re empowering people by improving behaviors at the highest level.

Interested in hiring Coeus Creative Group to train your teams on this topic or behavioral intelligence? Contact us today

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On February 19, 2020, formerly successful Head Men’s Basketball Coach of the University of Michigan, John Beilein, resigned from his position as Head Coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers after less than a full season with the team. The breakup was inevitable after reports of players being unhappy with how Beilein communicated with the team on several occasions.

This resignation brought me back to a conversation I had with former Butler University men’s basketball standout Ronald Nored, back in the summer 2016. Ronald played for Butler from 2008 to 2012 under Head Coach Brad Stevens, who is now the coach of the Boston Celtics. Brad Stevens is one of the few coaches who has been able to be successful in his jump from College Head Coach to NBA Head Coach. I had the opportunity of finding myself sitting next to Ronald at Dinner while at a conference that summer. Ronald had played under Brad Stevens for four years in college and had served as one of his Assistant Coach’s for the Boston Celtics. In his first 3 years, Brad Stevens had already proven to be on the trajectory of a great college coach that is able to translate that success to the NBA. I could hardly wait until the appetizer came to the table before I found myself asking Ronald, “how has Brad Stevens been able to find success as an NBA coach where so many other college coaches had failed” and continue to fail with recent news of John Beilein.

Ronald’s answer was simple; simple but not easy. He shared how Brad Steven’s leadership style has always been to build trust with his players so that they understand that he cares more about them as a person rather than what they can do to help his own coaching career. Trust, a relationship, genuine interest in the people he is leading is what Ronald thought made the difference where so many college coaches making the same transition had failed.

As a college coach, it can be very easy to use the “power” of a scholarship to get players to perform the way he or she wants. However, in the NBA with many players making significantly more money than their coach, they do not have that same leverage. Ronald shared how many NBA players come from families where they could have only dreamed of the money they now make for their profession. People who grew up around these NBA players now expect a share of what they make, which can cause hesitation in who they feel they can trust. This might be why it is difficult to be successful with an authoritarian approach in the NBA. It can be difficult for players to build the same level of trust with coaches with that style of leadership. Since Brad Stevens had always had the habit of building a genuine relationship with his players, it allowed for a seamless transition from College to the NBA.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of Coeus Creative Group. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of Coeus Creative Group.

The post From College to the NBA: The Outline for Success appeared first on Coeus Creative Group, LLC.

Everyone in Michigan, and other states or countries with stay-at-home orders, are stuck in quarantine…. but what does that look like for most people?

For some, it’s organization, deep cleaning, projects, working out, and an endless amount of productivity. On the other hand, many people are feeling lethargic, anxious, depressed, and lacking the energy to do much.

While we might strive to be that can-do person turning their time at home due to the pandemic into a positive, it’s okay to be the opposite, which is where I’ve found myself lately. I have those days I find the urge to empty out my closet, spring clean the house, and reorganize my fridge; more often though, I have days where I am feeling anxious and depressed over the global situation.

When I am having those tough days, I have found that changing my behaviors can help change my mindset. Here are a few things I like to do to make myself feel better:

Getting Outside

Living in Michigan, this time of year is usually filled with gloomy weather as we move into spring. On the days we do have sunshine and clear skies, I like to go on a walk or run, bring my work outside, or spend the evening reading a book on my porch. Changing your environment can do a lot to change your perspective. Whatever activity you might like to do, like painting, taking it outside and getting some fresh air helps keep the stir crazy feeling at bay.

Yoga and Meditation

Stress is inevitable right now and to help control it, I do yoga and meditation to keep my body moving and clear my mind. Engaging in healthy behavior like exercise can lower your stress hormones, causing you to feel better. Thanks to modern technology, there are many online resources for this and free videos to follow along to on YouTube. Many premium exercise outlets, like Peloton and Fitbit Premium, are offering 90-day free trials, giving you access to their vast library to increase your endorphins and boost your mood.

Journaling

I am definitely not the “write-down my feelings” type, but I do bullet journal, which allows me to write down goals, keep a schedule, and track things like my mood and workouts. I use this as an outlet to check on myself and de-clutter my brain. Journaling can have a positive effect on your behavior and mental well-being. It can allow you to analyze your feelings and behaviors and explore solutions to influence and control your thoughts. If you want to learn more about bullet journals, Pinterest is a great resource!

Chat with a Friend and/or Loved One

I don’t write down my feelings, let alone share them with other people often, but I learned the hard way last year going through some personal and professional struggles that sometimes you need to open up. Even if you don’t want to talk about being depressed and anxious, just chatting with a friend or family member about nonsense can change your outlook. Communication builds feelings of connection with others and can help especially when you feel isolated and stressed.

Doing Absolutely Nothing

Sometimes it just feels good to do absolutely nothing and be in your feels. Binge watch Tiger King on Netflix, scroll through social media, lay in bed and stare at the ceiling; this is also a form of self-care!

It’s okay to be productive and it’s also okay do the bare minimum sometimes. What’s important is to do what feels best for you and don’t let anyone else’s quarantine journey affect yours. We’re all in this together!

Our team at Coeus Creative Group has been sharing tips on working from home, virtual solutions to trainings, and much more to ease the weight of the pandemic for our colleagues and clients. Visit our Eventbrite page for access to our online seminar series or subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date on the latest in behavioral intelligence.

The post Not Feeling Productive in Quarantine? Me Neither appeared first on Coeus Creative Group, LLC.