Starting Over in the Fourth Quarter with the Same Exact Team

When I started thinking about what I was going to write this week, I thought of something interesting. I wanted to talk about how sometimes you must win with who you have. It would be nice to change out low performers or replace someone who is going to be out. But just like in sports, once the game has started you can’t add new players. As I was thinking about all of that, I realized that tomorrow is the fourth quarter of the year. We only have three more months to finish strong and set the tone for a new year.  

A New Challenge

One thing that I decided last week was that part of the issue is that I don’t have a clear challenge in front of me. Everyone has been doing everything for so long, that even when things don’t go smoothly, they go smoothly. So how do I challenge people? A good leader is always looking at themselves and trying to figure out how they can improve. As I was doing that over the last week, I came to a very difficult conclusion; I’m sloppy. I concluded that just like so many other people in the world, I have been given a certain amount of God given ability. Sounds like good news I know, but the problem is that with a certain amount of ability, you don’t always have do the basics to be successful. It’s been so long since I thought about what the true basics of my job is, that I have no clue what they even are. The biggest clue that you have fallen away from the basics is that when the day is over, things were a challenge, when nothing should have been a challenge. When people are frustrated and no one seems happy, the basics have gone out the window. So, my new challenge as I head to the fourth quarter is “Back to the Basics”.

Where do I start?

If I want to be successful and get back on track, I have to know where to start. For now, I want to focus on two areas. I need everyone on my team to know what their role is. I also need everyone to have a number to shoot for. That means that at the start of the day, I need to know the numbers I want to hit. If I know what numbers I need to hit, then I can come up with a game plan on how to get there. If I know how to get there, I can start handing out specifics to everyone. I know I’ve said this before, but I have to remember that if it’s everyone’s job, it’s no one’s job. Someone has to be responsible for the things that I believe are the most important.

Self-Awareness

The biggest issue when you go through something like this is that question you keep asking yourself, “How did I get here?”. When I look back on things for me, I realize that I stopped making to do lists. Maybe even worse, I would make a to do list and then ignore it. I knew that I could put it off till tomorrow and everything would keep going. I also found myself blaming others or situations that were out of my control. When things are going well, I just don’t worry about the things that are out of my control. I’m also not afraid to tackle the difficult things on my list. I have something on my personal to do list that has been sitting there for about ten days. It’s only going to take about five minutes to do, but I just don’t want to do it. Waiting this long has only made it worse. I’m going to get it done today.

Before the Whistle Blows

The fourth quarter is getting ready to start, the referees are walking out to field to blow the whistle. I only have a few more moments to make sure I’m prepared. This is my team; I’ve set expectations, and everyone knows what they need to do. It’s been a sloppy game, and we are behind. That’s ok though, it’s time to come together as a team and win this!