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Issue 361 - One On One Time (Joe Torre Part Four)


Wooden's Wisdom - Volume 8	Issue 361
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ONE ON ONE TIME (JOE TORRE - PART FOUR) John Wooden Video Clip (42 sec.): Cooperation Hall of Famer Joe Torre was a major league manager for 30 seasons. From 1996 to 2007, Torre was the manager of the New York Yankees and guided the team to four World Series championships. He is one of only five managers in history to win four or more World Series titles and one of only two in history to win three titles in a row. Torre was a great motivator and a master communicator with his players and his boss George Steinbrenner. In today's environment, emails, texting, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are valuable communication tools but they should not replace Torre's most valuable motivational tool: face to face one on one time. In his book Ground Rules for Winners, Torre expands on the idea: "To know your team as individuals, you need to look them in the eye. And you absolutely must make time for them. Sounds like a simple rule, but too many managers in too many walks of life only pay lip service to it. Firstly, making time for team players enables you to appreciate them as individuals, which can definitely help you to get the most of their abilities. Secondly, it gives you opportunities to (1) let players know what you expect of them; (2) bolster their confidence; (3) answer their questions; and (4) offer support. I'm not big on team meetings—I prefer one-on-one sessions. I will hold hundreds of private discussions over the course of a single season, and these efforts are the basis of my motivational strategy. It doesn't matter where the meeting occurs or how long it lasts. What matters is the quality of the exchange. Private chats with your players should not feel like an obligatory routine. I suggest that you initiate them only "as needed," and only in circumstances where the door is open, so to speak. Managers can use one-on-one meetings almost the way doctors use office visits —for both diagnosis and treatment." Torre also described why he felt it was critical for unhappy team members to be comfortable to air their dissatisfaction with their boss face to face one on one: "When team members feel they've been put in the wrong positions, they may complain, harbor resentment, and put in less-than-optimal effort. In such cases, as a team player, it may help to communicate your concerns to the manager, if only to open up a dialogue. It never helps to let resentments fester; I've always favored getting conflicts and issues out on the table. The point should be to clear the air, not manipulate the manager into giving you what you want. Once you've had your say, there's a good chance your relationship with your manager will improve, even if the manager doesn't change his or her mind." Is there somebody you need more face to face one on one time with? Click here for personal development exercise: Issue 361. Click here for Printable Poetry: Issue 361. Yours in Coaching, Craig Impelman www.woodenswisdom.com Follow @woodenswisdom	COACH'S FAVORITE POETRY AND PROSE CHARMS Sweet is a rosebud, pink or red, And sweet are the blooms of May, And sweet is the fragrance about us shed On many a summer day. Oh, the world is full of such sweetness rare To make our joys completer, But there 's nothing so sweet on this earth, I swear, But a baby's smile is sweeter. Fair is the blue in the summer skies, And fair is the summer sun, And fair is the look in a sweetheart's eyes When a man her heart has won. The world is crowded with splendors fair To gladden each burden-bearer, But there's nothing so fair on the earth, I swear, But the charms of a babe are fairer. Dear to us all are the friends we love, And dear are the hopes we cling to; And dear, indeed, are the memories of The loved ones we used to sing to. Oh, the world is crowded with treasures dear, To our hearts, above all, they 're nearer; But there's nothing so dear you can mention here, But the baby you love is dearer. Edgar Allen Guest (1881-1959)
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