So … your goal is…

• To be promoted from a middle school coach to a high school coach in your district.
• To be promoted from Linebacker coach to Defensive Coordinator
• To be promoted from Defensive Coordinator to Head Coach
• To be promoted from the Head Coach at your school, to a larger more “prestigious” program in your city.

How do you go about doing that?

Marketing/ Business Guru, Seth Godin shared one way in his post from Sunday, “Lead Up”… I have added my comments in the brackets…

“A successful middle manager [coach] gets promoted when she takes the right amount of initiative, defers the right amount of credit and orchestrates success. That success might happen despite (not because) of who her bosses [head coach/ athletic director] are, and that’s just fine, because she’s leading up.”

Leading up is…

“… creating a reputation and an environment where the people around you are transformed into the bosses you deserve.  When you do this with intention, it gets easier and easier. From afar, it seems impossible, and it will be until you commit to it.”

• Do it on purpose [see post What is your “Elevator Speech”]
• Tell stories that resonate with those in charge
• Demand responsibility, don’t worry about authority
• Reflect credit, embrace blame [see post Chain of Accountability, Chain of Praise]
• Earn the right by taking small steps [see post 100 Days Later]
• Convene, organize, learn, teach and lay the foundation [see post Lifetime Learning]
• If they don’t get it, go somewhere that does

Work hard, continue learning, be a great teacher, be humble.  The best way to get a great job is to DO a great job at the job you have.  I have seen coaches get so consumed about finding a “better” job that they work harder at that (finding a new job) , than in doing the job they are supposed to be doing!

Enjoy the Journey!

Jeff Floyd – youcandomore1@yahoo.com

Follow @youcandomore1