Work through differences
If you can, wherever possible, when you’re working in support of athletes and coaches, working away in a high-performance team – try not to let yourself conclude with “Let’s agree to disagree”. Just as important, is to avoid others concluding the same.
It’s;
- a cop out
- indicates that ‘digging your heals in’ is the best solution
- shows a lack of compromise
- doesn’t get to the heart of the matter
Instead, try to build a solution by;
- Seeking to understand their perspective
- Actively capture the differences
- Pursuing what would be an acceptable compromise from your side and ask the same of others
- Look for a win-win that you both agree on and build momentum from that place
Check poor and lazy habits
Checking some of these habitual, default or (some might say) lazy phrases, neglects and limits the development of debate and discussion skills. Your clients should require you to be better as a team member to work things out. Seek clarity before you’re leaping to the disagreements, problem-solve differences, explore risks and benefits a different approaches.
If you’re a sports scientist, sports medic or coach – you owe it to your athletes and players, but also to the team to be agreed. If that means going a few more steps into a discussion, then do. It’ll be worth it to prevent the bad feelings of disengagement.
Test and review
You can always conclude a compromise with – “Let’s test it to see how it goes” and regroup soon to review! Testing and learning is better than a demented, blinkered approach that doesn’t change in response to feedback.
More posts like this everyday in the SC Community
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