Many times in business our ineffectiveness as a coach is sometimes disguised by the achievement of an overall number. A good friend of mine, and great leader, shared with me some great wisdom that he shared with one of his managers in order to help them understand this point:
“What matters is your contribution towards making people successful. Not what their contribution toward your success is.” – Brooke Christian, Executive VP at TransPerfect
This was in response to a leader that fell victim to the 80/20 mindset ‘rule’ that many, (MANY) leaders and teams seem to think applies in business (it doesn’t by the way). This manager felt that since the team as a whole was hitting their number (i.e a couple individuals were bringing in the entire teams quota) then the entire team was a success. But as Brooke pointed out, if 8 out of 10 people are not achieving their goal, then we are failing 8 people. As coaches when we focus on making each player more successful (coaching them) then the entire team will win (and by the way…the quota will be CRUSHED)! Excellence does not have an 80/20 rule and neither does coaching!
