Author: Andrew Teitelbaum

In January 2011 I was stuck.  Over the previous three years our program’s performance had fallen from amongst the top of the conference and competing for a position on the podium at the NCAA Championships to the middle of the Big 10 and barely getting selected to the championship.  To make matters worse, we were … Continue reading Day 81 (Fear)…

When you coach in college you tend to see the same things happen over and over again.  I would tell the athletes my stories, I would tell them the stories of others, but little seemed to help each class avoid a bevy of mistakes the classes before them had made.  Eventually I came to a … Continue reading Day 80 (Wise)…

I’ve had two prominent situations where there was a toxic teammate, a bully, in my program.  The first time I didn’t respond.  I was too distracted trying to get a building built and too stupid to realize the impact this one individual was having on my team culture and our performance.  In 2007 we were … Continue reading Day 79 (Nerve)…

Take seventy-five-plus eighteen to twenty-two-year-old women from countries and cultures all over the globe. Put them in one group, wake them up before dawn six days a week, every week throughout the academic year, repeatedly stress their bodies so they are continuously in a state of fatigue, and you can imagine that it doesn’t take … Continue reading Day 78 (Embrace it)…

“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”-Modern Proverb I see this one a lot: leaders chasing performance, whether it’s wins, revenue, or whatever metric gets rewarded in their system.  They believe that talent is key, so they ignore the behavior of the talented.  They are focused on outcomes over culture, and when … Continue reading Day 77 (Stand)…

Sergeant Hulka: “You know something soldier, I’ve noticed you are always last.” Private Winger: "I'm pacing myself, Sergeant."   -Stripes Bill Murray’s character in the movie Stripes understood what we at BTL also know.  Life is an energy management problem.  For Private Winger, basic training was one giant drain, and so he drudged through each task … Continue reading Day 76 (Fatigue to full)…

I have a friend who has had several stints as a head coach.  Whenever we would speak, I would inquire how his team was doing. His stock response was, “Good! Everyone is happy.” My friend did not like conflict, wasn’t good with confrontation, and so valued false harmony above all else.  It’s not a surprise … Continue reading Day 75 (False harmony)…

During a one-on-one BTL practice I was shadowing, the client talked about the resistance that inertia creates. This high-performing leader just celebrated ten successful years of service to his clients.  He has a big vision for his company over the next ten years, and he is taking the productive actions needed to create some deep … Continue reading Day 74 (Agitate)…