Pat Summit reached 1,000 wins last week – the first coach, male or female, in history to reach this milestone.
She has coached 12 Olympians and 18 All-Americans and has a 100 percent graduation rate of student athletes – an amazing summary of success.
What would comparative success look like in the business and nonprofit sectors?
There doesn’t seem to be numerical data that demonstrates such a level of excellence so succinctly. Perhaps it would be stock performance or scale of outcome of work in changing lives or industry benchmark awards.
For the non-basketball or sports fans who did not get a chance to hear about Pat Summit’s remarkable achievement, feel free to review her bio for its impressive storyline.
What I enjoy talking about as a former player, coach, and social change activist is her leadership style. I had the opportunity to be in a meeting with Pat Summit in the mid 1990’s when we were working on the then formation of women’s professional basketball leagues. There was much conversation in the room around the league format, potential coaches and general managers, and sponsors.
Pat was very clear that the image of the league leadership should reflect success, strength and confidence from day one.
We can learn a lot from Pat Summit’s leadership style. While her intense and formidable presence on the sideline may deter some from modeling this type of behavior, know that her heart and mind is ultimately focused on her players: How can I make them better? What resources or training do they need to be stronger, smarter or quicker? What combination of people and strategies are needed right now for success in this situation?
Imagine if every leader had this type of focus every day in their work.
Today, I bring these messages to the nonprofit clients and philanthropists I get to work with at Imagine Philanthropy. Feel free to read these, share with your work teammates and ask one another the questions around your work together.
1. Play to people’s strengths. Take the time to listen, observe and provide feedback on your teammate’s efforts. Think about bringing out the potential in every person. Provide a vision of the highest standards and success with measurable objectives and hold everyone accountable to that level. Related question: What does winning look like?
2. Focus on fundamentals. With all of the distraction in the work environment, it is more important than ever to bring people back in line with their job priorities. The more time we focus on a priority measurable objective, the better results we produce. Clearly, people understand that practice produces results. Related question: What is the quality of your practice?
3. Detail equals confidence. Being prepared allows you to demonstrate confidence and understanding of a situation. When you have given sequential attention to detail to a project – going through a series of steps to insure that every angle was explored and completed– your project will have a higher chance of success. When you present your work, 70 percent of what people hear is the tone of your voice. If you have done your homework, calm confidence will be revealed in your voice. Related question: What is the tone of your leadership?
Tuti Scott is a point guard who still plays in a weekly basketball game to remind herself of the leadership skills learned from sport. Her company, Imagine Philanthropy, helps strengthen the brand and capacity of organizations and provides leadership coaching for nonprofit executives and philanthropists.
