Control the narrative

There’s a book called “extreme ownership”.  In chapter 3, they discuss a moment in the war in Iraq, where higher leadership issued an order that most seals didn’t understand.  They separated navy seals into teams that included Iraqi soldiers. These Iraqi soldiers were rarely in proper physical condition lacked problem solving skills and had next to no training what so ever. A military mission requiring navy seals is not an easy task by any means and now they were going to need to train Iraqi soldiers in the field as well. They couldn’t see the purpose, they were  livid that they were being put in harms way to train Iraqi soldiers.  However the leadership team  understood what they didn’t. there weren’t going to be any winners in this war, atleast not in the traditional sense of the word.  These enemies didn’t care about winning a war they only cared about causing as much death and destruction as possible.  Our nations definition of success in this situation was to make Iraq stable enough to fend off the enemy on their own. If Iraqi soldiers did not receive training from the seals so that they could hold their own, then we would never be able to leave successfully.  


This is a valuable lesson for sports and leadership.  Sometimes there is not a good solution, but a great leader is going to find the best solution for the team as a whole, even if it may not be what’s best for each individual.   That’s the thing, war and sports are about something bigger than yourself, it’s not about you it’s about the guy sitting next to you.  It’s not about what you can get out of the team, it’s what the team can get out of you. 


This issue is a pivotal situation for every team.  How your team comes out on the other side of these situations is directly related to the ability of your leadership team.  Coaches are going to have a lot of situations where players, parents, fans, administrators, and whoever else may not agree with their decision.  However it is extremely important that as a leader they make sure to properly explain each decision.  By explaining the “why” behind your decisions as a coach, you control the narrative. When people disagree with a decision that’s made, and they can’t understand why the choice was made, they create their own reasons.  These reasons are typically negative and far worse than the actual “why” behind the decision. Controlling the narrative is absolutely necessary in maintaining a positive culture.

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