Threaded Solutions

Are you training or teaching your team?

As we head into the weekend, I will once again be doing something I love outside of work: coaching youth recreational sports. One of the best parts is seeing the pride and confidence a player finds in themselves when they succeed at a skill or situation that was once challenging.

I’ve observed that this happens MUCH more frequently when I ask players questions about the challenge they are facing and encourage them to explore and try solutions. Batting practice this week was no different. One of my players was crushing pitches over the middle and outside of the plate, but couldn’t connect with anything inside. I paused the round and we had an exchange where I ONLY asked him questions. I didn’t provide any solutions.

We restarted and I threw him a series of inside pitches only. He fouled off the second one. I reinforced that he was approaching it the right way and would find success. Then—WHACK. He crushed it to the back corner of the cage. No words needed. His wry smile said it all: ‘I’ve got this.’ The absolute best!

I could have “trained” him by telling him the specific adjustment to make. It would have been faster. However, we’d be doing it again the next time something was difficult in the batter’s box. I would have prevented him from gaining the confidence from finding the solution and the tools to solve the next challenge.

What “inside pitches” is your team facing? How can you help them find the solution while growing their confidence and skills to adjust to the next challenging pitch?

So, this is how I’ve been getting around the last few weeks thanks to a stress fracture in my hip (surprise, business issues can be physical too)! There are many parallels to being a business owner:

-Adapt to get where you want to go
-Rely on the strength you’ve built
-Learn to ask for help without shame
-Find the tools that work for your situation
-Rest and recover if you want momentum
-You’ll still fall on your face sometimes!

Thank you to my family and customers for your compassion & adaptability! Reach out if you need some extra support to get your or where you want it to go. I’ll keep leaning on my crutches to get where I want to go this month while growing Threaded Solutions.