Blog
… and F.A.S.T. information you should learn during Stroke Awareness Month.
If you saw a stroke, would you recognize it? Act F.A.S.T. Call 911 (see more below).
Think 12 year old girls can’t help you learn about business? Think again.
After a recent family emergency took me out of my office and literally off the playing field as a coach, I realized that training, empowering and trusting my teams (professional and 12U softball) is what allowed me to focus on my personal life, and never have either team miss a beat.
Giving up control is not something I, or many company presidents do easily. But, when you train your people to do their jobs well, and to learn their role and understand why and how they do it, instead of always giving them a signal or instruction, they become stronger. That ultimately makes your organization stronger, and you a more effective leader.
When your best friend, and partner in life has a stroke in front of your eyes, the world blurs and your focus is solely on him. In my case, all I wanted to do was to get Eric the best medical care as fast as possible. I did not have time worry about the team of 12-year-old girls we were coaching in a travel fastpitch softball tournament, because I knew they were safe in the hands of our coaching staff. (I did of course worry that they would be upset by having their coach taken to the hospital, but I knew they were surrounded by other coaches and parents).
What I learned later, as these girls played on in the tournament, is that they continued to do their “job” as travel softball players. And they did it well. They have been very well trained by us and our coaching staff how to play their positions — why they need to be aware of what is going on in the game, and where their next play should be, based on what has occurred on the field.
The same is true in business. When you train your team about their roles in the company, why they do what they do, and how to handle possible scenarios, challenges and disruptions that can occur in any given business day, they are prepared. So you do not have to worry that they cannot execute without your assistance or involvement. That is a foundationally strong organization and it serves your clients in the best possible manner.
Trust yourself to teach your team well and trust them to respond. Explain the subtleties that elevate your people from capable to exceptional. Teach the “little things” that make an ordinary player a great one. One of the comments I heard weeks later, is that when other coaches saw our girls play after we had left to take Eric to the hospital, they were amazed that they could play on as well as they did, and in fact win the game, because they knew what to do. They did not need someone to coach them through every play or at bat, because we have trained them well.
So I encourage you to invest in and trust your business team, elevate them with the knowledge, training and support they need to take care of business whether you are supervising them or not. You then can focus on your role, leadership and business growth.
F.A.S.T. Life Saving Information for Stroke Awareness Month
In recent years I had seen reports on stroke signs and symptoms, so I knew what to do for Eric, and he thankfully has a great outlook.
If you suspect someone is having a stroke, please remember to Act F.A.S.T.
F – Face / Does the face droop on one side when the person smiles?
A – Arm / After raising both arms, does one of the arms drift downwards?
S – Speech /After repeating a simple phrase, does the persons speech sound slurred or strange?
T – Time / If any or all of the above are observed call for 9-1-1 right away.
Stroke Fact: The sooner you get to the hospital during a stroke, the better your chance of recovery.
Do you remember much about your college commencement speaker’s comments? This is the season for those speeches and some will stand out more than others. Check out some of the highlights (and video) from Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter. He focuses on the importance of focusing on what you love, making an impact and not waiting for external sources to guide you in life.
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130423092913-28723569-why-you-should-make-more-mistakes