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In sports players understand the need for the team to be playing their best when it matters most.
However, they don’t understand the need for the team to come together when it matters most.
Teams coming together and leaders stepping up has always been an elusive goal for players to grasp; what does it look like?
What exactly is their role in the process?
A Green Team is built upon athletes who show up special. They are money when it comes to their character, leadership, and ability to make others around them better. The goal is to get as many players living in the green so the team can perform at its highest level.
This is easier said than done. It takes commitment and intentional work. Here are three ways your players can fight for and build your Green Team:
Manage Performance
First, players need to manage their performance. In order to build green, one must first be green themselves. Athletes should take the time to pause and reflect on how they are showing up. Are they consistently showing up with a contagious energy? Are they uplifting their teammates? Are they exemplifying what hard work looks like in your program? Are they focused? Are they selfless? Athletes must also make sure they have someone pouring into them. It’s important to remind them if they don’t have anyone mentoring and uplifting them, how can they expect to show up special for their teammates?
Another important component of managing one’s own performance is taking personal inventory. When athletes take the time to ask themselves what am I good at and what do I enjoy doing, they begin to discover their natural gifts. Taping into the talents and gifts they already possess will help them lead with the confidence a Green Team needs. It’s important to remind athletes that no leader is perfect and no one is a finished product, but learning to manage one’s own performance is a huge step towards building a Green Team.
Read the Room
Secondly, in order to fight for and build a green team athletes have to learn to read the room. How is the team doing? Green athletes have the ability to put the team’s needs above their own. In order to do this they must seek feedback. When seeking feedback it’s important for the leader to meet with all stakeholders. Having intentional conversations with both teammates and coaches will go a long way in identifying exactly what the team needs.
- Is the team lacking energy?
- Is it lacking confidence?
- Is it not communicating well?
- Is the team connected?
Green leaders are able to relate to and work with all personality types. Reading the room not only involves asking what does the team need, it also requires knowing what each person needs. Some teammates may need more encouragement than others. Some may need someone to lifeguard them more than others. And some may require more sugar while others need more salt. Green leaders have the special ability to read the room and deliver exactly what the team needs.
Hold Accountable
Lastly, when building a green team leaders must hold their teammates accountable. This is not the normal type of accountability we’re talking about here. This is leading with love. It is all about helping teammates keep their promises of living to the green standards the team has agree upon.
(For more depth on what accountability should look like, listen to our podcast episode Reframing Accountability)
Fighting for your green team is a daily responsibility. We cannot let our teammates slip below the surface. No one on the team drowns under our leadership. Green leaders help their teammates live the green standards out. They positively challenge their teammates to give 100% effort to be in the green. And when teammates have a moment or day where they are not in the green (and that’s okay) they are there to help them get back into the green.
For more information on our foundational exercise The Green Team, and our entire digital library of dynamic exercises email us at: info@leademup.com
We want to provide you a tool to keep your players engaged, growing as leaders and continuing to feel connected to their team/teammates; The 21-Day Leadership Playbook.
This FREE 21-Day Leadership Playbook is filled with various Lead ‘Em Up exercises, uniquely modified for players to do on their own, as part of a team-wide exercise.
Download your free copy right here!
Have fun and #LeadEmUp
