JZ met Toto today…

Today, during practice 47, I picked a fight with JZ. I played a little “Toto” and stirred things up a bit. I challenged him to come to practice more prepared, more patient, and more curious. His justice thread got tweaked and his mind turned to mush. He kinda froze in the process. Toto’s bark kinda shut him down…

Normal.

JZ was caught off guard by my challenge. He is new around here and confused my challenge with some of his historic ones. He got defensive as a result and eventually went turtle as I simply kept pushing.

During any BTL practice you will only recieve a challenge from me if I believe in you. I only challenge, in public, out of belief. In private, I challenge out of belief and out of frustration. As a leader, I do not mix the order. Challenging a teammate, in public, out of frustration makes them feel less as a result. If you find yourself frustrated with one of your team, call them into your office and communicate in private. Remember to ask them to play it back to you too. Humans have a hard time hearing your words through your frustration.

As practice 47 concluded, I reminded the team that I challenged JZ because I believe in him. I only challenge, publically, those I deeply believe can take it. Oftentimes, the first few times this doesn’t go so well. Sometimes I discover the individual was not as strong as I suspected. This individual does NOT receive more challenge from me. Most of the time, however, we build trust and develop a taste for more and more challenge from belief.

This high performing individual learns to greet challenge with curious questions instead of going turtle. Together we improve.

BTL leader, challenge your top performers. Pick a fight with those you believe can take it. Find out how they handle the pressure. Adjust accordingly. Top performers grow when they respond to challenge. Your job, remember, is to make ’em do what they can. And, JZ, you can do a lot. Come to practice 48 more prepared, more patient, and more curious. Come ready to be challenged…