Most learning…

Most learning is remembering. This is the newest nuance to my worldview – my deepest held beliefs. Today with a few Head Coaches, we went back to remember basic stuff we already know. I reminded them. I remembered a drive sixteen years ago when I was talking to my best builder, Larry Allen, about the new playbook I had just written called The 8 Essentials of Leading Teams. I was struggling to find the melody line of the playbook and was talking through it with him. He was mostly listening. He was so good at sitting in there with me and letting me talk it out, if you will. As we were talking the MOT (moment of truth) arrived.

Leaders are believers, I shouted into my dumb phone with a Duchenne smile creasing my facee. “Brilliant,” he exclaimed. “Absolutely brilliant, Chet” he reiterated as if I may have missed his first exclamation point. You see, Larry was giving me the greatest gift a leader can give to his/her team. Larry was a believer. He believed in me and this work. When I was doubting my writing and work, he sat with me, listened, challenged out of belief, and gave me courage to keep going. When something remotely good came out of my mouth, he celebrated the hell out of it. He was my best builder because he celebrated and challenged in just the right ratio’s. He celebrated me like he was a Saint sent directly from Heaven to make me do what I can. Why? Because he was and he is…

Most learning is remembering. Give more belief to your team, leader. We have an epidemic of disbelief which leads to anxiety, frustration, depression, panic, and ends up robbing us of effort and excellence in the end. Give more belief. Give more courage. Celebrate small wins. Reward effort. Challenge out of belief. Today, a few HC’s got better by giving and receiving this gift. I’m remembering to love harder. I hope you’re happy, LA. I’m slowly getting it. Good.

Live hard. Love harder…