A Coach's Diary

Every player that Michael Jordan has ever played with talks about his competitiveness and his drive to be great, and they talk about how he pushes his teammates to be great as well. In his book, Driven From Within , he said: "A leader has to be willing to sacrifice to help everyone else get to where a team needs to go. No one could take days off with the Bulls because I never took a day off. The leader sets the standard, and everyone has to live up to that standard." Michael Jordan said that he has taken that same approach at Brand Jordan. He said, "It all goes back to me, Tinker and Mark Smith. If we all agree to the standard, who is going to try to change that? We've built the standards. We're leading, not following. Whoever comes in has to live up to the same standard. They have to be as dedicated as I am. They have to put in the same effort. They have to have the same understanding of what we are about. If you don't have the same vision, then you're ...

There is a quote that says, 'The hardest person to lead is yourself.' It's hard because you have to live out the expectations that you have for others: - Be on time - Be prepared - Be positive - Next play - Have grit - Go the extra mile - Bring it every day These are sayings that all of us coaches use, and if we live them, we can find success inside and outside of sports. The hard part is actually living it out as a coach - every day - and in all walks of life. We have to model the behavior that we expect.  When we don't practice what we preach, we send mixed signals that cause confusion and hurts your credibility. We have to walk the walk. Your character is who you are and what you do  - through the good times and bad times. Life is opportunity after opportunity to get reps in being who you want to be.  Through the good and the bad, practice strengthening your character by making the right choices, by being more consistent, and by living above ...