What’s wisdom without sharing, right? It’s often said that knowledge is power – which is true – but I find that the true power lies within the ability to share that knowledge with others. To help others learn, and grow into better leaders, professionals and human beings. I’m very grateful that throughout my life, I’ve been a part of many coaching trees that have helped me to become a better coach both for my youth football team and at Medix, and now it was my duty to develop my own coaching trees to help others.
Medix
People always say that you should hire people who are as good, if not better than you. It can be intimidating to seek a team of individuals who are all smarter and more capable, but it’s exactly what Medix needed to grow and succeed. Medix needed individuals that were knowledgeable about the industry, and people who didn’t mind coming in early and staying late, so long as it positively impacted a life. We needed individuals who were just “better than me”, that I could trust wholeheartedly to have mine and Medix’s back when I relocated to Scottsdale.
We are so fortunate to have found many of the individuals we found early on. These leaders were essential aspects of my coaching tree. They carried impressive resumes, but more importantly, had humility and an attitude of not being right, but rather finding the right answer. Working with this group gave me a sense of unconditional trust, and ultimately it was this group that helped me take a step back, which in turn allowed Medix and my teammates to blossom.
Football
On the field, it too was time for me to grow my coaching tree, as I’d just taken over a head coaching position. I was fortunate that I didn’t have to start from scratch when looking for others to help coach. Thankfully, many of the other coaches I already knew and worked with agreed to continue volunteering for our program. This group of men reminded me a lot of the group of leaders at Medix. They shared a passion for developing young kids, and were each values-based coaches, but we were also a group of men with very different personalities. What I discovered was that these different personalities and perspectives were complimentary of one another. Each individual had a unique perspective, as well as strengths and weaknesses that all served cohesively to help us achieve our goals. This group gave me the same sense of unconditional trust, and together we were able to coach these kids through an unbelievable year of football.
Maybe it’s cheesy, but there truly is no “I” in team. A desire to be inspired, improve and coached are essential aspects in all coaching trees, and without the help of the team and coaching tree who surrounds me at both Medix and on the football field, our success would be limited.
Share your thoughts on how you built your coaching tree in the comments below.