Do You Help Your Team See a Bigger Potential?

Today's post includes an excerpt from my latest book, Lead Better Now, a "very insightful for practical everyday life application!" for leaders.

One of the most impactful moments of my high school athletic career happened during a race I didn’t even win.

Each spring, football players at my school were encouraged (strongly) to play a different sport in the offseason to keep in shape before summer football workouts.

We had our choice of basketball, baseball, or track. I played baseball my freshman year but switched to track my sophomore year after realizing how much I hated sitting in the batter’s box. (Blame the fastball I took to the face in Little League.)

I showed up two days before my first track meet and was told I’d be running the 800 meters, or what I still refer to as the devil’s race.

The 800-meter race is a two-lap, half-mile sprint. I had no idea what I was getting into that first track meet. My coach instructed me to sprint the first 200 meters and then pace the next lap and a half before sprinting the final 200 meters.

What did I do?

Not that. My adrenaline was so amped that when the gun fired, I took off in a dead sprint and did not slow down.

I grabbed an early lead, but halfway through the second lap, I died. My legs suddenly felt like they were stuck in concrete, my lungs burned, and my vision blurred. With every fiber of my being, I fought to keep running, but I felt my body getting slower and slower.

I watched as one of the runners passed me with 100 meters to go.

I struggled to keep up and ended up crossing the finish line in third place—where I fell to the side of the track and rolled in the grass as the lactic acid raced through my body. I felt terrible physically and felt even worse because I had lost.

The day after the meet, the coaches put the final rankings in the locker room with a note here or there of how guys did.

My coach, Jeff Traylor, wrote “GUTS” above my 800-meter performance.

I’d been upset about losing, but seeing that word written in all caps and circled for emphasis restored my confidence. My coach noticed something in me that I hadn’t paid attention to because I hadn’t won. He saw me fight to the end.

And he reminded me of my all-out effort in front of my peers.

That simple word, guts, became a mentality I embraced.

I loved being someone with guts. It meant I was brave and that I could outwork the competition. His choice to call out what he saw spoke life into me—a life I embraced and lived into the rest of my high school athletic career.

You may have grown up hearing, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” but that line is a fallacy.

Words aren’t just words.

Words aren’t just words. They can be life-giving or soul-stealing.

They can be life-giving or soul-stealing. Coach Traylor’s words gave me the confidence to see myself in a new light and act in that new light.

Speaking confidence into those you live, work, and commune with enhances your leadership ability.

Maybe you chose the people on your team. Or perhaps you, like many others, inherited them when you stepped into this new role.

Either way, set aside any preconceived notions of what someone is or isn’t capable of.

Don’t allow past performance or a current lack of confidence to influence how you invest in them.

Give them a clean slate and allow them the opportunity to become their best. How you speak to them will determine how they respond.

You get to decide whether you will reinforce people’s lack of confidence by reminding them of past failings or if you call them toward their potential.

Some of the people you lead may have never had someone tell them they are capable of more. Their belief in themselves is small because no one ever cared enough or knew enough to speak something better into them.

When we see ourselves as capable of more, we start to behave as more.

What if your words become the catalyst that changes how people see themselves?

One of the easiest ways to improve your leadership influence is to inspire confidence in others by speaking life into them.

• Acknowledge something specific your coworker does really well.

• Praise your child’s hard work—even if they aren’t getting the results they desire just yet.

• Encourage a friend about their potential to succeed. Tell them what you see in them that they may not yet see in themselves.

Words have the power to break hearts or raise spirits.

As a leader, how you use your words each day is crucial. We live in a culture that emphasizes and praises outcomes.

It would be foolish to say outcomes don’t matter. It matters who wins the game. It matters who signs the client. Outcomes matter.

But we can’t always control outcomes.

We can control effort. Reward the effort that, when repeated, will most likely lead to the outcomes you desire for the people you lead.

__________________

Thank you for reading! If you'd like more help leading effectively, consider purchasing my book Lead Better Now here.

PS - Here are 3 ways I can help you right now!

1. 📈 Make Your Next Event Impactful Beyond Just One Day: Learn how we can partner to help your leaders & organization compete every day here.

2. 🚀 Skyrocket Your Leadership Skills by joining my small group coaching program for managers & directors looking to increase their impact & get better results here.

3. 🎧 Listen to my podcast, Compete Every Day on Apple, Spotify, or here.