A few weeks ago, we told you all about how we trained our staff to lead – not by teaching more drills for a back handspring – but by focusing on leadership. If you missed that, you can catch that blog HERE.
So, today I wanted to talk about the top 8 things you should be teaching your staff. There is a local business nearby who spends the first 45 minutes of every day focusing on staff development. They have about 12 full-time staff members and are in the auto repair industry. They’ve been voted the best of the best in Missouri several years in a row. Why do you think that is?
I agree. Staff training. So, if you’re like me – the college kids I employ probably can’t spend 45 minutes per day doing staff development, but they can spend 1 hour per month at a training meeting! Below, I’ll give you the top 8 things you can train your staff on that will change your gym and the way they lead! (Consider one topic per month for the next 8 months!)
1. Extreme Ownership. Not only is this a great book by Jocko Willink, but it’s a constant reminder that the things that happen to us in life are not by happenstance. We are ultimately in control of our fate and what happens to us is the full result of our own actions.
2. Servant Leadership. This concept revolves around the idea that we should always be focused on serving others. As we do that, we ultimately grow the whole team and get closer to our goals.
3. Verbal and Non-Verbal Communications and Perceptions. Many young staff may not be putting a lot of thought into their verbal and non-verbal cues, but it’s those things that are ultimately creating reactions in parents and athletes. By slightly modifying our verbal and non-verbal cues and talking about how those things might be perceived by others, we bring awareness to our own actions and can work to improve them.
4. Building a Tribe. Tribes is a great book by Seth Godin where he talks about how to build a community of people who can stand behind your brand and beside your staff. It’s a short read, and I highly recommend it if you’re looking to build a community and a family in a gym of any size.
5. Self-assessment of leadership skills. If you’re part of the NG Owners Academy, you know how much we love to do self-assessments. But now, you can have your staff rate themselves on things such as: Communication with parents, communication with athletes, the ability to communicate in several different ways (audibly, visually, etc.), time management, focus, etc.
6. Goal setting v. goal getting. We actually talked about this in a blog last week, and it’s a great topic to discuss with your staff. Remember – those who are successful in achieving personal goals will better understand how and why to help their teams set goals and how to be an integral part of the gym’s goals.
7. Core values. If you’ve ever been to a Next Gen conference, you’ve likely heard one of our sessions on core values and why they play a vital role in your gym’s growth. We can grow with unhealthy habits allowing parents to use their own personal values to make their decisions, or we can set the tone for our gym by instilling our core values and expectations.
8. How to Ask Questions. Silly, right? No! John Maxwell managed to write 350 pages about how to ask great questions to gain trust, insight and value into others. By asking questions, we show people we care. Imagine if your coaches could ask your gym parents and athletes questions that made them feel important and valued. Wouldn’t that make a huge difference in your gym?
I hope you found this helpful. You may have seen the trend….a great book is behind almost every one of these topics. Stay tuned next week as we give you our TOP PICKS for reading for 2021. Each of our consultants will give you his/her favorite book!
